Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's lawyers say he is enduring 'prisoner of war' conditions
Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's lawyers say he is enduring "prisoner of war" living conditions in a motion obtained by FOX 59 Indianapolis.
Indiana prosecutors and defense attorneys last week said Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen made "incriminating statements" against himself while incarcerated.
Authorities arrested Allen, 50, in October 2022 in connection with the Feb. 14, 2017, killings of Liberty "Libby" German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, while they were on a popular hiking trail in Delphi.
"He has made incriminating statements implicating himself in the crime," Allen's defense attorney, Bradley Rozzi, said at the beginning of last week's hearing, according to FOX 59 Indianapolis.
Rozzi added, however, that his client's statements were inconsistent and unreliable because Allen's mental health is apparently deteriorating in prison.
DELPHI MURDERS SUSPECT RICHARD ALLEN'S LAWYERS SAY HE IS ENDURING ‘PRISONER OF WAR’ CONDITIONS
Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen, who has a hearing in June, is living in a 6 foot by 10 foot cell "no larger than that of a dog kennel," and sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor. (FOX 59 Indianapolis )
The defense attorney is pushing for Allen to be transferred from the Westville Correctional Facility to the Cass County Corrections Jail.
Allen's defense team filed a motion in April saying the "conditions under which Mr. Allen has been forced to endure are akin to that of a prisoner of war," which included a photo of the double murder suspect in which he appears to have lost a significant amount of weight.
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Allen is on suicide watch and has been placed in isolation at the prison, where his attorneys say he is living in a 6-foot by 10-foot cell "no larger than that of a dog kennel," and sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor.
Richard Allen's attorneys included two photos of the murder suspect taken a year apart in an effort to show a difference in appearance, and possibly weight, since his arrest. (FOX 59 Indianapolis)
Meanwhile, prosecutor Nick McLeland said during the June 15 hearing that Allen confessed to the murders "five or six times" to "multiple people" while incarcerated.
Rozzi also said Allen did not tell the same, consistent story to everyone he apparently confessed to, according to Kevin Greenlee, an attorney and co-host of "The Murder Sheet" podcast, which has been following the Delphi murder case.
Co-host Áine Cain told Fox News Digital that the defense also made the "significant" point that it is unusual for a murder suspect to be housed in prison in solitary confinement before trial.
Jury members for a high-profile trial of Richard Allen, accused of killing two teenage girls nearly six years ago, will be selected from outside the county the crime took place in, a judge said Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (Darron Cummings, File photo)
"At the same time, I thought the prosecutor Nick McLeland did a good job…refuting some of the narrative that…this inmate is being specifically mistreated and more of delineating that he would be in a pretty bad state anywhere he was at this point because of what he's accused of and because inmates in different incarceration settings tend to look not so kindly on people who are accused of hurting children," Cain, who attended the hearing, explained.
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She and Greenlee described last week's hearing as dramatic, with compelling points made by both the defense and prosecution regarding Allen's potential transfer to a new prison.
German's, Williams' and Allen's families were all present at the hearing, which Cain said serves as a reminder of the tragedy at hand that sometimes gets lost in legal jargon and complicated court proceedings.
On Feb. 14, 2017, Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were killed while biking on trails near Delphi, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. (Indiana State Police)
"You have the families of both Abby and Libby coming in and bearing witness to this process where they're hoping to see justice for their girls," Cain said. "On the other hand…is Allen's family, and … this is a person they've known and love, and he's being accused of some pretty horrific things."
Cain and Greenlee also plan to file a motion to unseal documents that have been "improperly" sealed in the case to ensure proper procedures are being followed in the case, they said.
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"There are some documents in this case that have been sealed improperly," Greenlee said. "…We actually filed a motion with the court saying those documents that no one has requested to be sealed should be unsealed immediately."
A jury trial for Allen scheduled for March was postponed due to "extraordinary, voluminous evidence" in the case that must be shared with the defense, as FOX 59 reported at the time.
