Assignment task:
The case of George Allen for my Innocence project, a man who served 30 years for the murder and raping of a woman, a crime he did not commit.
On the evening of February 4, 1982, the young woman was discovered dead in her home by her boyfriend who contacted the police. The autopsy showed that the cause of death was multiple stabs and incised wounds to the victim's back and neck, and there was evidence consistent with sexual assault. Initially, police suspected a known sex offender, Kirk Eaton, whose brother resided in the victim's apartment building and who, himself, lived only five or six blocks away. The victim's boyfriend (who she lived with) and ex-husband were also early suspects. On March 14, 1982, by a chance encounter, police approached George Allen several blocks from the victim's house and, mistaking him for Eaton, brought him in for questioning. Detective Herbert Riley later realized the mistake but started interrogating Allen regardless. Allen, who had an extensive history of severe mental illness, including hospitalizations for schizophrenia, eventually confessed to raping and murdering the victim. Ultimately, Allen was convinced by Detective Riley that police had evidence against him (which was untrue), his protestations of innocence were futile, and consequently, the only alternative was to falsely confess. On the recording, Allen can be heard informing the officers that he is under the influence of alcohol. Throughout the interrogation, the detective asks highly leading questions and prompts Allen to give him answers to fit the crime, often asking Allen to change his answer to do so. In those few instances where the detective did not ask a leading question, Allen confesses to facts that conflict with the facts of the crime.
Prosecutors' primary evidence at trial was the confession and testimony by a police lab analyst that was later proven false. The analyst testified that semen was found on the carpet under the victim's body, in her vaginal and rectal swabs, and in several other places. He testified that the only antigens recovered from seminal fluid at the scene were A and H antigens, which could not exclude Allen as the source of the semen. The prosecution emphasized this in its closing argument. If Allen had been excluded as the source of the semen, "we wouldn't be here. We'd know that he couldn't have. But it's consistent." There was no other physical evidence linking Allen to the crime scene. Allen's first trial was deadlocked at ten-to-two in favor of an acquittal. Allen presented an alibi defense, and three witnesses testified that he was snowed in at home at the time of the murder. At his second trial, he was convicted of capital murder, rape, sodomy, and first-degree burglary. He was sentenced to 50 years for capital murder and 15 years consecutively on the other three charges.
What sociological theory explains why he was convicted?