In 2011, Alonzo Allen was arrested for having drugs in his car. At 48 years old, he was given a 40-year sentence without the possibility of parole. He believed he would die in prison. Although people serving drug-related sentences in Louisiana are entitled to a chance at parole, the judge who sentenced Mr. Allen denied him parole eligibility without authorization of law. Mr. Allen spent nearly a decade in prison thinking he had no hope of release. And yet he followed prison rules and took available programming in order to learn and grow. When Innocence & Justice Louisiana learned about Mr. Allen’s illegal sentence, our staff worked to correct the parole restriction.
When Mr. Allen and his Innocence & Justice Louisiana lawyers appeared before the parole board, its members praised him for his commitment to rehabilitative programming, his good conduct record, his thoughtful reflection on the addiction that led him to prison, and his sound re-entry plan. They voted unanimously to release him.
After 10 years in prison, Mr. Allen left David Wade Correctional Center, a prison he never thought he would leave alive.
