Wrongful Conviction and Release of George Allen Jr.
GEORGE ALLEN
Wrongful Conviction and Release of George Allen
Biological Evidence/ Dave Ross
Wrongful Conviction and Release of George Allen
The 1982 rape and murder of 31 year old Mary Bell of LaSalle Park neighborhood of St. Louis which was presumably solved is now officially an open cold case file. After new evidence was brought to the court’s attention, it was decided by the courts not to retry Mr. George Allen who has been officially exonerated as of November 14, 2012. Thanks to The Innocence Project, Mr. Allen can now try to regain what has been taken away from him. Thirty years to be exact. The only reason George Allen was even picked up and questioned was because he resembled someone that they did want to question. Mr. Allen, who suffers from schizophrenia,
After detectives started questioning him he confessed to both crimes of rape and murder. His mother told detectives that he was at her home on with her on February 4, 1982 in University City. She also informed them that he was working for the neighbor. Later when the tapes of his confession were reviewed, the confession appears to be coerced. Reportedly all fingerprints that were found at the scene had been matched either to the victim, her boyfriend, or police officers. This was reportedly all of the evidence in this case. Nothing other than this alleged confession linked Allen to the crime scene. (Bruce, B. 2012) George Allen’s first trial ended in a hung jury. He was subsequently convicted of both charges even with the lack of evidence. When the Innocence Project got involved not so long ago, the real truths behind the evidence and details involved in this investigation began to have some light shed on them. There were actually seven additional fingerprints that were never matched to anyone including George Allen. This one piece of withheld evidence George Allen should not have been ever convicted. With this one fact, the case should have taken its focus off of Mr.
Wrongful Conviction and Release of George Allen
Biological Evidence/ Dave Ross
Wrongful Conviction and Release of George Allen
The 1982 rape and murder of 31 year old Mary Bell of LaSalle Park neighborhood of St. Louis which was presumably solved is now officially an open cold case file. After new evidence was brought to the court’s attention, it was decided by the courts not to retry Mr. George Allen who has been officially exonerated as of November 14, 2012. Thanks to The Innocence Project, Mr. Allen can now try to regain what has been taken away from him. Thirty years to be exact. The only reason George Allen was even picked up and questioned was because he resembled someone that they did want to question. Mr. Allen, who suffers from schizophrenia,
After detectives started questioning him he confessed to both crimes of rape and murder. His mother told detectives that he was at her home on with her on February 4, 1982 in University City. She also informed them that he was working for the neighbor. Later when the tapes of his confession were reviewed, the confession appears to be coerced. Reportedly all fingerprints that were found at the scene had been matched either to the victim, her boyfriend, or police officers. This was reportedly all of the evidence in this case. Nothing other than this alleged confession linked Allen to the crime scene. (Bruce, B. 2012) George Allen’s first trial ended in a hung jury. He was subsequently convicted of both charges even with the lack of evidence. When the Innocence Project got involved not so long ago, the real truths behind the evidence and details involved in this investigation began to have some light shed on them. There were actually seven additional fingerprints that were never matched to anyone including George Allen. This one piece of withheld evidence George Allen should not have been ever convicted. With this one fact, the case should have taken its focus off of Mr.
References: AP. (November15, 2012). Conviction Tossed, George Allen Jr. Walks FreeToday. (Online). Retrieved from http://st.louis.cbslocal.com/20/2/11/14/conviction-tossed-george-allen-jr- walks-free-today/. (Last assessed November 2012). Bruce, B. (November 15, 2012). Man’s Rape, Murder Convictions Overturned after 30 Years. (Online). Retrieved from http://kplr11.com/2012/11/04/mans-rape-murder-convictions- overturned-after-30-years. (Last assessed November2012) STIToday. (November15, 2012).30yearsinjail. (Online).Retrieved from http://www.stitoday.com>news>local>lawandorder.(last assessed November2012).