William Allen in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Att. Kristine McDonald, posted WBUR)

Today, a surprise turn of events occurred in the 4th hour of merely the second commutation hearing held for a lifer in more than a decade. William Allen, who has served twenty-seven years of a first-degree life sentence, must have been as surprised as the rest of us when  Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz made headlines with “Today I am taking the unprecedented step in supporting [Allen’s] petition for commutation.”

No one serving a life-without-parole sentence has been granted a commutation since 1997. The Mass Advisory Board of Pardons (the Parole Board) hears these cases and then forwards successful ones to the Governor.

Having the DA support a commutation is certainly unusual. But Cruz mentioned how this is a “rare case,” and he was asking [the Board] to recommend to Gov. Baker that Allen’s petition be forwarded.

Thomas Koonce, who had a commutation hearing on Oct. 27, 2020, and was approved by the Board of Pardons, is still waiting for the Governor to sign off and commute his first-degree life sentence to second-degree with parole eligibility.

Allen, who was charged with armed robbery and the felony murder of Purvis Bester in 1994, received a life-without-parole sentence as a joint venturer. He has admitted that he participated in the robbery but his co-defendent committed the murder, took a plea, served a second-degree sentence, and is now out on parole.

These factors plus the fact that Allen made “a strong case” for himself as Board member Tonomy Coleman and others noted, may be enough for Allen’s sentence to be commuted. Once the Parole Board votes to send his petition to Governor Charlie Baker, the Governor has a year to sign off on the petition. Then Allen will have to seek parole from the Board.

A recent Massachusetts Bar Association Clemency Task Force report pointed out the woeful lack of commutations (reduction of sentence), and pardons (forgiveness of the underlying conviction) in Massachusetts and made recommendations to the Governor.

At today’s hearing, all the Board members commented on the progress and transformation as well as the numerous programs that Allen had completed behind bars. Board member Tina Hurley did specifically mention his powerful work ethic, to which he responded “I try to do a good deed a day.”

Allen, who has been active in a particularly important program for his development, the Companion Program, told a story that detailed his growth. He said that before he became a companion at Old Colony, he helped out at Bridgewater Hospital. There he met Eddie, who was in his 60’s, relegated to the infirmary with slight dementia. Eddie wasn’t allowed out of the unit, said Allen, but one day Allen heard him singing and so he started singing with him. “I saw him dancing, and then I started dancing with him,” he said. In 2004, Allen became Eddie’s companion. “We were The Odd Couple. He was an old white guy.” William is a Black man, now in his late 40’s.

Since then, he has been a companion to seven men. Chair Gloriann Moroney complimented him on helping people feel less alone.

Allen talked about how he thought about Bester every day and lived his life in a way that “honors” him. Allen wants to help young people like his son, whom he feels he abandoned to the streets and is currently incarcerated.

“He’s a very good candidate for commutation,” said DA Cruz.

Please see and spread far and wide my update on Old Colony Correctional Center here. It is titled A STATE REP GOES TO SPEAK WITH MEN INCARCERATED AT OLD COLONY and begins:

“It’s the ‘repeated refrain’ of people incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional Center (OCCC) in Bridgewater: ‘There just [isn’t] enough mental health care.’

So wrote Mass state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa in an email to me after she visited OCCC on June 3, a visit spurred by this reporter’s article detailing the disastrous year of suicide attempts, self-harm, and COVID at the institution.” MORE

The Campaign to End Life without Parole (CELWOP), a newly formed coalition, is seeking a community organizer to coordinate a state-wide drive to increase public awareness of life without parole sentences in Massachusetts and to galvanize public support to end LWOP.

 The campaign would complement efforts by Massachusetts lawmakers to secure passage of H1797, legislation that would eliminate LWOP by mandating parole review eligibility in all instances starting at 25 years of incarceration. The measure would also establish restorative justice programs geared to men and women incarcerated in Massachusetts on sentences in excess of 25 years.

 CELWOP seeks a field organizer with lived experience in the criminal legal system, either as a formerly incarcerated person or as someone with a loved one who is serving a life sentence or another extreme sentence. While current funding for the post would expire after 24 weeks, CELWOP will work to raise additional resources to extend the position. CELWOP anticipates that the position will begin July 1 2021.

 Connecting with faith-based groups, unions, schools and colleges, community-based and activist organizations, the organizer will seek to challenge the media-driven false narrative that people convicted of violent offenses are irredeemable and undeserving of a second chance.

The organizer will work in collaboration with incarcerated members of CELWOP. He/She/They will be responsible for promoting civic engagement in the campaign to abolish life without parole.

In particular, the organizer should have:

•     knowledge of the Massachusetts criminal legal system
•     the ability to travel to targeted districts to attend conferences, community gatherings   and public rallies.
•     have a computer, phone and the ability to print documents.

 In addition, the organizer will be expected to:

•     work in collaboration with others to create a social media campaign against life without parole sentences in Massachusetts.
•     arrange speaking engagements for himself/herself/themselves, as well as CELWOP members.
•     respond promptly, in consultation with CELWOP, to provocative or hostile commentary or coverage in the media.
•     provide a detailed monthly activities report to CELWOP.
•     attend regular meetings of the CELWOP coalition, in person or via Zoom conferencing

 Skills/Knowledge Needed

•     strong computer skills
•     familiarity with social media
•     organizational experience
•     trained in or familiar with restorative justice
•     strong communication skills, both verbal and written
•     ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people
•     familiarity with the legislative process
•     familiarity with organizations and individuals working to end mass incarceration
•     familiarity with restorative justice practices both inside and outside of prison.

The organizer, who will be retained as an independent contractor, will check in and report progress on a monthly basis to the Exoneree Network, which is applying for funds from The Sentencing Project to finance CELWOP. The Network’s fiscal sponsor is The New England Innocence Project. The organizer’s direction will be led by consensus of CELWOP.

 DURATION
July 1 2021 – December 15 2021: 24 weeks:

 COMPENSATION
40 dollars per hour, 20 hours a week, or 480 hours, plus reimbursement for expenses 

YOUR RESUME AND A LETTER EXPLAINING YOUR INTEREST AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS POSITION SHOULD BE EMAILED TO:

CYNTHIA GOLDBERG
cynthia@thef8foundation.org 

Please read my newest and maybe most important article I’ve written this year here. It is about A YEAR OF DISASTER AT OLD COLONY: SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, SELF-HARM, AND COVID and begins like this: 

*****

For Joseph Beatty, as for all of the men I heard from for this article, mental health services were drastically diminished at Old Colony Correctional Center (OCCC) in Bridgewater during the pandemic year.

On the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, instead of receiving treatment, Beatty was contemplating ending his life.

He was not in his cell on the residential treatment unit (RTU), nor was he talking idly in the dayroom or outside for recreation.

Beatty, who some called a haunted soul, was standing on the second tier of the RTU, approximately 15 feet above the ground. He was “out of place,” according to an incident report filed at OCCC.

Then, Beatty “suddenly shrugged his shoulders, took several large strides, grabbed the hand railing on the end of the tier and flipped himself over.”

Will Soper, who suffered from sexual, physical, and mental abuse before he came to the RTU two years ago, recounted, “At the time, I was by the kiosk machine where we put our canteen orders and I was talking to a couple of guys before I heard a scream.”

As Beatty fell, he landed on another prisoner. Yet, his head cracked open on the concrete and it bled profusely. 

“I still can’t get rid of the sound of his head smashing off the floor,” Soper recalled. MORE

FROM THE COALITION FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SAFETY

As the April 5th Globe editorial illustrated, the parole system is in dire need of reform. Please act now by asking your legislators to cosponsor two important pieces of legislation that would bring much needed change to Massachusetts:

• An Act to promote equitable access to parole (SD 1065/HD 2124) Fact Sheet Here and

• An Act to Reform Parole Supervision in the Interest of Justice (SD 2212/HD 3620)