A United States District Court Judge sentenced Douglas Eugene “Gene” Martin, 54, of Jemison to 9 1/2 years in federal prison after being convicted of murder-for-hire.

U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary announced the sentencing late Monday in Montgomery.

Martin was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release under the supervision of a federal probation officer after his release from prison.

At the time Martin took part in the murder-for-hire plot, he was in federal custody pending federal firearms charges. Martin used another inmate to attempt to hire someone to commit a murder in exchange for an offer of money from Martin.

No attempts to murder the intended and unnamed victim were actually made because investigators discovered the murder-for-hire plan before it could be carried out.

“It is fortunate that the investigators in this case successfully protected the victim by exposing this murder-for-hire scheme before it could be executed,” Canary said. “The sentence received by Mr. Martin should signal others who might want to hire people to commit violent crimes that they face stiff punishment in this district.”

The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods and Middle District of Alabama’s Alabama ICE programs, both aimed at preventing violent crime and illegal possession of firearms.

Investigating the case were agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Jemison Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Shepherd and Nathan Stump prosecuted the case.