Grant Commutation for my 61 yr old Father Jack Allen! Unjust Mandatory Life Sentence
- by: Kristin Allen
- recipient: Governor Rick Scott, Florida Commission on Offender Review, Representative Neil Combee, Fifth District Court of Appeals
My father is 61 yrs old and has spent the past 18 years in prison, and will die in prison if he is not granted the freedom he deserves.My entire relationship with my father, who I need more than anything, has been with me on the outside and him on the inside. As a girl, I need my father. I can’t stand by, and watch my father get older while incarcerated for something that didn’t warrant life in prison.
My father regrets the mistakes he has made in the past, and those he affected especially those who may have been unaware of his actions. Not a day goes by, that he isn’t sorry and wishes wholeheartedly that he could undo that day- the day that landed him in jail. , However, the system shouldn’t be allowed to trample the rights of its citizens based upon past errors. Especially, because at the time of this unfortunate incident my mom was pregnant with me and was left alone pregnant and scared.
On May 15, 1997 my father was arrested for burglary. After being questioned for several hours, the Burglary/Battery charges were dropped and he was arrested for possession of marijuana (less than an ounce). This was predicated upon the fact that he did not match the description that was provided by the homeowner. Florida had apprehended the wrong man. He was released, and life was fine for him and mom. Because of the pressure from the community to resolve this case and no further leads as to who committed this crime , my father was then arrested and detained again, over a year later, on July 12, 1998. Hair samples were taken from him for the second time.
My mom hired a lawyer by selling everything they owned at the time, to pay for the retainer. The lawyer told my mom and dad that the charges were “Ludicrous” and the State didn’t have a solid case and he should be out and free. My dad sat in county jail for 20 months, and my mom had to give birth alone. Despite being told this case would never go to trial, months later the lawyer informed them that the trial was on. Not only would it go to trial, the lawyer told my dad that he would lose! But will win it back by appeal.
My mom was taken advantage of by a lawyer who wanted to make a quick buck, while my dad remained in jail for a crime he didn’t commit! The DNA evidence was never presented during trial. The appeal promised by the lawyer never took place. By the time the lawyer was able to file the appeal, my mom had no money as she was trying her best to care for me. She was forced to pick and choose between taking care of me, or doing everything she could to free the man she loved!
To make it worse, my dad found out years later, that the State had offered his attorney a plea deal of a lesser charge including offense of Trespass for 24 months, but the attorney NEVER CONSULTED WITH MY DAD! Instead, he refused the plea deal.
During the trial, it was revealed that 14 fingerprints they found, none of them were his! The homeowner in this case could not positively ID my father as the perpetrator neither through pictures nor while face to face in Trial court. The DNA test showed that the hair samples tested DID NOT MATCH my father’s. However, the DNA evidence was never submitted by the lawyer to the court system during the trail. This evidence that could have prevented all of this, was left out.
Despite my mom and dad making several attempts to discover this prior to my being arrested fifteen (15) months after this alleged Burglary, he was never told the results of these tests.
He had his Due Process rights violated multiple times by the Judge, the Prosecution, Courts, and Attorney:
Because of Florida’s “Speedy Trial Rule” The Prosecution was required to begin the trial within 175 days of the arrest, however his arrest date was May 15, 1997- a violation of Florida Law and his rights.
Due process of his rights violated when he was brought into the Trial court shackled at the ankle, waist and hands. He is not a violent person and was no threat to the courts or others. His Attorney agreed this was an error on his part, but damage was already done, the 1st impression made to the Jury was my father in shackles, which is a violation of the right to a fair trial to appear before the jury bound in physical restraints as well as impair the presumption of innocence.
At sentencing the State introduced as a predicate felony, a Community Control violation, which prior to October 1998, could not be used to Habitualize an Offender especially because in my father’s case the arrest was 05/15/1997 before this Law was put into effect, which makes this Life Sentence illegal and excessive. These numerous court errors in my father’s case have been fought Pro Se to no avail.
At the time of sentencing, a life sentence in Florida requires more than 360 points. My dad only had 102 points, but was given a mandatory life sentence anyway!
While my father has been incarcerated, his mother, three brothers, and sister have all passed away. Three of them died from cancer, and he wasn’t able to be there for them by their side. He is devastated over this. He has lost contact with his three other children, who he thinks about every day. I was hospitalized several times, diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at age 10, absentee seizures at age 12, then with Ulcerative Colitis shortly after that. It's been a long hard struggle all these years for me and my mom without my dad.
Due to the OBVIOUS errors in his case, this Mandatory Life Sentence was Unjust & Unlawful and needs to be recognized as so and be corrected. We seek your help to achieve the correction. The courts keep turning a blind eye in his case. Please grant my father Clemency/Commutation of Sentence.
My father doesn’t deserve another day behind bars. Please don’t leave this page, without signing and sharing. Help me bring him home, so my mother and father can finally be together. So I can finally have my dad next to me, sharing in memories, and doing things that girls and dad’s do.
Sincerely and God Bless,
Kristin Allen & Karen Michalak
My father is 61 yrs old and has spent the past 18 years in prison, and will die in prison if he is not granted the freedom he deserves.My entire relationship with my father, who I need more than anything, has been with me on the outside and him on the inside. As a girl, I need my father. I can’t stand by, and watch my father get older while incarcerated for something that didn’t warrant life in prison.
My father regrets the mistakes he has made in the past, and those he affected especially those who may have been unaware of his actions. Not a day goes by, that he isn’t sorry and wishes wholeheartedly that he could undo that day- the day that landed him in jail. , However, the system shouldn’t be allowed to trample the rights of its citizens based upon past errors. Especially, because at the time of this unfortunate incident my mom was pregnant with me and was left alone pregnant and scared.
On May 15, 1997 my father was arrested for burglary. After being questioned for several hours, the Burglary/Battery charges were dropped and he was arrested for possession of marijuana (less than an ounce). This was predicated upon the fact that he did not match the description that was provided by the homeowner. Florida had apprehended the wrong man. He was released, and life was fine for him and mom. Because of the pressure from the community to resolve this case and no further leads as to who committed this crime , my father was then arrested and detained again, over a year later, on July 12, 1998. Hair samples were taken from him the seond time.
My mom hired a lawyer by selling everything they owned at the time, to pay for the retainer. The lawyer told my mom and dad that the charges were “Ludicrous” and the State didn’t have a solid case and he should be out and free. My dad sat in county jail for 20 months, and my mom had to give birth alone. Despite being told this case would never go to trial, months later the lawyer informed them that the trial was on. Not only would it go to trial, the lawyer told my dad that he would lose! But will win it back by appeal.
My mom was taken advantage of by a lawyer who wanted to make a quick buck, while my dad remained in jail for a crime he didn’t commit! The DNA evidence was never presented during trial. The appeal promised by the lawyer never took place. By the time the lawyer was able to file the appeal, my mom had no money as she was trying her best to care for me. She was forced to pick and choose between taking care of me, or doing everything she could to free the man she loved!
To make it worse, my dad found out years later, that the State had offered his attorney a plea deal of a lesser charge including offense of Trespass for 24 months, but the attorney NEVER CONSULTED WITH MY DAD! Instead, he refused the plea deal.
During the trial, it was revealed that 14 fingerprints they found, none of them were his! The homeowner in this case could not positively ID my father as the perpetrator neither through pictures nor while face to face in Trial court. The DNA test showed that the hair samples tested DID NOT MATCH my father’s. However, the DNA evidence was never submitted by the lawyer to the court system during the trail. This evidence that could have prevented all of this, was left out.
Despite my mom and dad making several attempts to discover this prior to my being arrested fifteen (15) months after this alleged Burglary, he was never told the results of these tests.
He had his Due Process rights violated multiple times by the Judge, the Prosecution, Courts, and Attorney:
Because of Florida’s “Speedy Trial Rule” The Prosecution was required to begin the trial within 175 days of the arrest, however his arrest date was May 15, 1997- a violation of Florida Law and his rights.
Due process of his rights violated when he was brought into the Trial court shackled at the ankle, waist and hands. He is not a violent person and was no threat to the courts or others. His Attorney agreed this was an error on his part, but damage was already done, the 1st impression made to the Jury was my father in shackles, which is a violation of the right to a fair trial to appear before the jury bound in physical restraints as well as impair the presumption of innocence.
At sentencing the State introduced as a predicate felony, a Community Control violation, which prior to October 1998, could not be used to Habitualize an Offender especially because in my father’s case the arrest was 05/15/1997 before this Law was put into effect, which makes this Life sentence illegal and excessive. These numerous court errors in my father’s case have been fought Pro Se to no avail.
At the time of sentencing, a life sentence in Florida requires more than 360 points. My dad only had 102 points, but was given a mandatory life sentence anyway!
While my father has been incarcerated, his mother, three brothers, and sister have all passed away. Three of them died from cancer, and he wasn’t able to be there for them by their side. He is devastated over this. He has lost contact with his three other children, who he thinks about every day. I was hospitalized several times, diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at age 10, absentee seizures at age 12, then with Ulcerative Colitis shortly after that. It's been a long hard struggle all these years for me and my mom without my dad.
Due to the OBVIOUS errors in his case, this Mandatory Life Sentence was Unjust & Unlawful and needs to be recognized as so and be corrected. We seek your help to achieve the correction. The courts keep turning a blind eye in his case. Please grant my father Clemency/Commutation of Sentence.
My father doesn’t deserve another day behind bars. Please don’t leave this page, without signing and sharing. Help me bring him home, so my mother and father can finally be together. So I can finally have my dad next to me, sharing in memories, and doing things that girls and dad’s do.
Sincerely and God Bless,
Kristin Allen & Karen Michalak
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