SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. — Attorneys for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen have filed a motion to request he be transferred from the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.
Robert C. Scremin and William Lebrato, who were appointed to Allen by Special Judge Frances Gull at an October 2023 hearing, filed the motion Friday, Jan. 12, one month after Allen was moved from the Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Sullivan County.
In the filing, Allen's attorneys cite the following reasons for requesting his removal from the maximum-security state prison:
- The attorneys claim Allen is not being treated similar to other pre-trial detainees who are held in county jails.
- Allen's attorneys cited the distance of travel and visitation conditions at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility as "seriously, if not fatally" impacting the attorneys from being able to effectively represent him.
His attorneys are requesting he be transferred to either the Allen County Jail or the Adams County Jail.
Allen is accused of killing Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in February 2017.
On Thursday, Jan. 18, the high-profile murder case in Carroll County will take a detour to Indianapolis and the Indiana State Capitol, when the Indiana Supreme Court will intervene in the case.
Allen is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate his original defense team, which was disqualified by Gull for alleged negligence. He also wants the Supreme Court to replace the judge (he claims she cannot be impartial and has overstepped her judicial authority) and to order a new trial date within 70 days to ensure Allen’s right to a speedy trial.
Even before his trial begins in October 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to accept Allen’s unusual appeal and will hear oral arguments from attorneys representing Allen and Gull on the morning of Jan. 18.
However, attorney Cara Wieneke does not believe Allen will be in attendance:
“From our position as it stands right now, Mr. Allen will NOT be attending the hearing, and we will NOT be asking for him to attend the hearing. My understanding from Supreme Court Services is that the Court will not be, on its own, entering an order to transport him either. I suppose the State of Indiana, through the Attorney General or through Mr. Guttwein, could file a motion asking to have him transported. But I don't see why the State would want him there.”
13News will be at the Supreme Court hearing on Jan. 18 and will stream the hearing live.
In April 2023, Allen's previous attorneys, Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, filed a motion requesting he be moved to a new prison. At that point, Allen had been held at the Westville Correctional Facility for around six months.
In that filing, Allen's attorneys described his conditions as "akin to those of a prisoner of war." They laid out a list of treatment Allen had allegedly experienced:
- Allen's cell being 6 feet by 10 feet in size
- Him sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor
- Only allowed to shower one to two times per week
- Required to wear the same clothes, including underwear, for days that are soiled, stained, tattered and torn
- No opportunity for Allen to visit his wife or family members in the past five months
- The electronic tablet he uses to call family members is monitored by prison officials, and the cost of the calls are being borne by Allen and his family.
- Allen is afforded very little recreational time.
- Information Allen's attorneys provided to him to review as part of his defense on March 24 are yet to be provided to him, as of April 3.
- It is difficult for his attorneys to meet with him given his segregation and isolation, which keeps him from being able to assist in his defense.