This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 22, 2011 - Two Missouri congressmen are joining the fight to free a University City man convicted of the rape and murder of a LaSalle Park woman in the 1980s.
U.S. Reps. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, sent a letter last Friday to Attorney General Chris Koster asking for George Allen Jr.'s murder conviction to be re-examined. Allen was convicted in 1983 of the murder, rape, sodomy and first-degree burglary of Mary Bell in her home in the LaSalle Park neighborhood of St. Louis. He is serving a 95-year sentence at the Jefferson City Correctional Center.
Attorneys for the Innocence Project and Bryan Cave announced in September an effort to free Allen. In a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, attorneys argued post-conviction DNA testing excluded Allen as the source of semen found at the crime scene, that police and lab reports contradict the state's serology evidence presented at trial, and that a key prosecutorial witness underwent pretrial hypnosis "directed at critical aspects of her testimony."
In the letter to Koster, Clay and Cleaver expressed "a deep concern that Mr. Allen has suffered a grave injustice that must be remedied swiftly." They also wrote they "feel that it is important that you personally take a very careful look at this case."
"This case is one that was always troubling to the St. Louis community," the lawmakers wrote. "His conviction was based largely on a confession that was obtained through a very leading interrogation and was filled with mistakes about details of the crime. Mr. Allen was not a suspect in the murder and was literally picked up by police by accident. He was walking in the victim's neighborhood a month and a half after the murder, and police mistook him for a sex offender who they were seeking to question.
The congressmen also reiterated questions about the plausibility of Allen committing the crimes during a snowstorm.
"It is not even evident how Mr. Allen could have gotten to the victim's house on the day of the crime," they wrote. "He lived 10 miles away from the victim, and the murder occurred during a record snowstorm that left 20 inches of snow on the ground."
"We want to make sure that you are aware of the importance of this matter to the local community, and the implications of this case for broader concerns of public safety and justice," the congressmen added.
(See the full letter at the bottom of the story)
Olga Akselrod, a staff attorney with the Innocence Project, said in late September that Koster could make the process go "much faster" if he agreed with the petition. Nanci Gonder, a spokeswoman for Koster, said in an email that the attorney general's office has received the letter and is reviewing it.
The press release states that Koster promised to make a decision by Nov. 30. Asked if that was accurate, Gonder said at this point the office is just reviewing it.
In a statement released after the petition was filed, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said: "We and the original prosecutor believe the DNA and other evidence neither confirms nor refutes the jury verdict in this matter."
Clay said in a statement he hopes Koster makes a decision relatively soon.
"I hope that the Attorney General will make a quick decision, and come to the only conclusion possible: that Mr. Allen is actually innocent of this crime," Clay said. "Further, I am hopeful that he will release Mr. Allen speedily and get him home in time for the Holidays."
Clay Cleaver Letter AG Koster 11182011 (1)
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance journalist in St. Louis, covers state government and politics.
