Reggie and AI Write-a-Thon
Once again, our Amnesty International friends have chosen Reggie’s case as one of the case’s for their annual Write-a-Thon. AI members are encouraged to write Reggie as part of their support for this case.
George Allen Finally Released after 30 Years
Allen was released yesterday for a murder he didn’t commit. We appreciate the efforts of attorneys and organizations committed to overturning wrongful convictions as that road is long, rocky and expensive.
Last week Cole County Judge Daniel Green vacated the murder and rape conviction of Innocence Project client George Allen Jr. based on the State’s failure to disclose numerous pieces of evidence, including blood test results that point to Allen’s innocence. Allen was convicted in 1983 and has served more than 30 years behind bars. St. Louis prosecutor Jennifer Joyce agreed not to re-try Allen but Attorney General Chris Koster appealed the judge’s decision. It seems he had a change in that decision perhaps based upon people challenging such a continuation of injustice including Congressman Lacy Clay.
Below is a brief description of Allen’s case from the Innocence Project’s website. You will see striking similarities in how the police obtain their forced confessions in Reggie’s case and that of George Allen’s. Any vulnerability is used against the suspect for the purpose of closing the case, especially if it is a high-profile case.
Allen was initially arrested for the 1982 rape and murder of Mary Bell, a St. Louis court reporter, when police misidentified him as a suspect in the case. According to the court, after realizing their mistake, detectives decided to interrogate him anyway. Allen, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic, gave a recorded confession, which one of the interrogating officers has since conceded was questionable. On the recording, Allen informs the officers that he is under the influence of alcohol, and throughout the interrogation the detective prompts Allen to give him answers that fit the crime.
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