Source: Carroll County Jail / other
CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — The attorneys for the Delphi murders suspect want his prison statements suppressed.
In a court motion filed Thursday, attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi want suspect Richard Allen’s “admissions of guilt” kept out of the courtroom. Allen’s legal team claims he was mentally and physically pressured into admitting he killed Abigail Williams and Liberty German in February of 2017.
Richard Allen, who’s currently facing two charges of felony murder and murder while kidnapping, is said to have made statements admitting his guilt while in the Westville Correctional Facility. However, Allen’s attorneys claim in an 11-page motion with cited depositions, that inmates and prison officers consistently abused and intimidated Allen before his transfer out of Westville was ultimately granted by Special Judge Fran Gull.
Allen is now in the Wabash Correctional Facility, where he awaits his May 13th trial start date.
Allen’s attorneys claim in the 11-page motion that he has been subjected to inhumane conditions and treated harshly, especially for a man that has not actually been convicted of any crime. Among other things, Allen’s legal team claims he has been kept chained up on a consistent basis, given little to no recreational time, and constantly harassed by prison staff who have some form of Odinist symbolism on their person. Baldwin and Rozzi say those conditions led to Allen being in a “state of psychosis” and on suicide watch.
You’ll remember that Allen’s attorneys claim several men in Delphi, a part of a religious sect known as Odinism, actually killed Abby and Libby in a human sacrifice. So far, no other individuals have been charged with the murders.
According to Allen’s lawyers, they say he made statements to another inmate at Westville that he molested the two girls before shooting them to death. Baldwin and Rozzi point out that the girls were not killed by gunshots and that the autopsy report does not support the claim that they were molested.
Baldwin and Rozzi say since Richard Allen did not make the admissions of guilt voluntarily, they should not be introduced in court as evidence.
Allen’s team also filed a motion to depose several inmates and officers of Westville to build their case.
The trial is supposed to begin May 13th with three days of jury selection, and then opening statements on Friday, May 17th. The trial is supposed to last to May 31st.
