Innocence Project Submits Evidence of Missouri Man’s Innocence

02.17.12

The Innocence Project in collaboration with the St. Louis law firm, Bryan Cave LLP, submitted an amended petition before a Missouri court today outlining additional evidence pointing to the innocence of George Allen who has already served nearly 30 years for a 1982 murder and rape. The amended petition outlines new evidence that casts even further doubt about the reliability of the alleged confession in the case and provides new details about exculpatory serology evidence that was never turned over to the defendant.


“We’ve known for months now that Mr. Allen is innocent. Hopefully the new evidence submitted today will persuade the Attorney General’s office to move quickly to release Mr. Allen, who has already served nearly 30 years,” said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law.

The Innocence Project first asked a judge to vacate Allen’s conviction on September 26, 2011. In that petition, attorneys established, through DNA and previously undisclosed serology testing, the presence of semen on the robe that the victim was wearing when she was attacked that didn’t match the Allen or the victim’s known sexual partners.

 

In the papers filed today, attorneys also point to new evidence that the police investigating the crime were concerned about the reliability of Allen’s confession. Although police were looking for another person when they arrested Allen, they decided to interrogate him anyway. Allen, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic and had been admitted to psychiatric wards several times, eventually ended up making a recorded confession.

 

Read more

about the case

.

 

Read a copy of the

Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

that was filed today in the Circuit Court of Cole County.

 

Understand the

causes of false confessions

.

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