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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
99 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
26 |
Year Crime: |
1983 |
Year Convicted: |
1984 |
Year Cleared: |
2011 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Dallas |
City of Crime: |
University Park |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Billy Frederick Allen was wrongly convicted in 1984 of murdering a man and a woman in their University Park, Texas home in 1983. The State's two key pieces of evidence were a palm print of Allen's on the roof of the car owned by one of the victims, and a detective testified that one of the victims said his killer was Billy Allen before he died. Allen's defense was that he had sold some scraps of gold to one of the victims several days before his murder and as he stood next to the man's car he had leaned on its roof while the man was inside counting the money he was going to pay Allen. Allen's lawyer didn't find out if there were any other men named Billy Allen who could have committed the crime. After Allen's conviction by a jury he was sentenced to two concurrent 99 year sentences. His sentence was enhanced by a 1974 conviction of methamphetamine possession for which he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. Allen discovered post-conviction that there was a Billy Wayne Allen who had been a suspect immediately after the crime, that he lived in the area and had drug and robbery convictions. He also discovered that one of the paramedics in the abulance clearly heard the man say his attacker was "Billy Wayne Allen." Allen filed a writ of habeas corpus in 2004 that he was actually innocent based on the new evidence of his trial lawyer's ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to investigate for other possible suspects named Billy Allen. Allen's habeas was granted by the judge after an evidentiary hearing. The State appealed, and in 2009 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the granting of Allen's writ of habeas corpus. Allen was released on bail, after 26 years of imprisonment. In January 2011 the Dallas County DA filed a motion to dismiss the charges which was granted. Allen then filed a compensation claim under Texas' compensation statute that provides for $80,000 per year of wrongful incarceration plus a lifetime annuity. His claim was denied by the Texas State Comptroller on the basis he had not been found "actually innocent." On May 18, 2012 the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the overturning of a conviction on the basis of a Schlup "actual innocence" claim that is based on ineffective assistance of counsel is legally the same as having a conviction overturned on the basis of "actual innocence" based on new evidence under the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Herrera v. Collins (1991). The ruling made Allen eligible for compensation from the State of Texas. On May 23, 2012 the Texas State Comptroller awarded Allen $2,073,333.33 plus $15,463.52 monthly annuity for life." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assistance of trial counsel. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"In 2009 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Allen's writ of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The Dallas County DA then declined to retry Allen, his charges were dismissed, and he was released after 26 years of imprisonment." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$2,073,333.33 lump sum payment plus $15,463.52 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 5-23-2012)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
37 |
Age When Released: |
63 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Ex parte Allen, Nos. AP-75580, AP-75581, 2009 WL 282739 (Tex. Crim. App. 2-4-2009)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/HTMLopinionInfo.asp?OpinionID=17969 |
Information Source 2: |
"In Re Billy Allen,Texas, No. 10-0886 (TX Sup Ct, 5-18-2012)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/historical/2012/may/100886.pdf |
Information Source 3: |
"Billy Frederick Allen v. James A. Collins, 924 F.2d 88 (5th Cir. 1991)" |
Information Location 3: |
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/924/88/224121/ |
Information Source 4: |
"State v Billy Frederick Allen, No. F8386548, 195th Judicial Court of Dallas County, Texas, January Term, 2011, Motion to dismiss charges granted by the court" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ebriefs//10/10088610.pdf |
Information Source 5: |
"Wrongful Convictions Have Cost Texans More Than $93 Million, By Johnathan Silver and Lindsay Carbonell, The Texas Tribune, June 24, 2016" |
Information Location 5: |
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/24/wrongful-convictions-cost-texans-over-93-million/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org