INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Richard Allen’s attorneys are trying to get two of his felony convictions thrown out before Fridays sentencing hearing. They want both felony murder charges thrown out. They claim he can’t constitutionally be convicted twice for the same crime.
The jury found Allen guilty of two counts of first degree murder and two counts of felony murder. Indiana University law Professor Jody Madeira told I-Team 8 the felony murder charges represented a separate crime, and are not the same as Allen’s first degree murder charges. “The girls were murdered in the course of a kidnapping, and so if Allen had been found guilty of kidnapping, for example, but not for the killings themselves, that still would have allowed the state to prosecute Allen for felony murder,” Madeira said.
As for the sentencing hearing itself, “The attorneys for Richard Allen will be participating in a minimal fashion, and so I think that it will be quick,” Madeira said. “I think we will also hear a lot of testimony from victims family members.” Close friends and family of Abby and Libby are expected to take the stand to speak directly to Richard Allen for the first time since he was arrested.
After that, how long Allen spends in prison will be up to Judge Gull. “I do believe that any sentence that Allen gets Judge Gull will sentence consecutively because there’s two separate victims,” Madeira said. Madeira said Gull will likely calculate her sentence based on the first deg.
