Governor’s Council grants commutations of murder convictions for William Allen, Thomas Koonce

The Governor’s Council unanimously approved Wednesday the governor’s commutations of the first-degree murder convictions of William Allen and Thomas Koonce– the first such requests to be granted since 1997.

“I do want to thank the governor publicly and the lieutenant governor for having the courage to submit commutations to us for the first time in, I think, 25 years,” said Councilor Robert Jubinville, who served as William Allen’s attorney at his original trial. “You have given hope to a lot of people in the facilities that there may be a chance that they could get (commutations.)”

Several council members also noted that the two men had all-white juries at their original trials, potentially factoring into their guilty verdicts.

“This is an egregious example of the Massachusetts court system’s Black disparity,” Councilor Marilyn Petito Devaney said of Allen’s case. “There wasn’t one Black juror.”

Over the past month, the Governor’s Council heard several hours of testimony from the two men, as well as many people around them who spoke to their transformations while incarcerated.

Koonce was charged with first-degree murder in 1992 after a New Bedford parking lot showdown led to Koonce firing out the window of a car, killing Mark Santos. Koonce has since earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University while imprisoned, and also helped establish the restorative justice program at MCI-Norfolk.

Allen was charged with first-degree murder in 1997 after he and a friend broke into Purvis Bester’s Brockton apartment, where the friend killed Bester. Meanwhile, Allen was in the bathroom with a few women who were in the house at the time, unaware of Bester’s death. Allen’s co-defendant was released over a decade ago.

Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz pointed out during his hearing that, since Allen was convicted in 1994, state laws have changed such that many believed he wouldn’t have been convicted at all. In 2017, these updates require that, for the crime of felony murder, the prosecution would have to prove that the alleged murderer acted with malice. He added that the victim’s relatives would like to see him released.

Several people who worked with Allen throughout his incarceration spoke to his growth in that time, the jobs he took on in prison, the importance of his faith to him, as well as his prospects if he is released.

Allen became certified as a barber and spoke fondly of the profession during his hearing. Allen has also been offered a job at a Toyota car dealership in Braintree.

Allen worked with patients with severe disabilities through a prison program at Bridgewater State Hospital, an experience highlighted by many of those who testified on Allen’s behalf.

Lt. Gov Karyn Polito, who heads the Governor’s Council, said that the Parole Board now has to consider these two cases for a “forthcoming” parole hearing before the men are released.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/M62XYuK