Delphi murderer Richard Allen wants a seven-day extension to complete his appellate brief, and he’s asking for permission from the Indiana Appeals Court to file a larger-than-normal document.
The motion filed this week indicates that the appellate attorneys plan to raise 10 issues to appeal. Nine of those involve Allen’s constitutional rights, according to the motion.
The motion to file a larger-than-normal brief states: “These claims are broken into five different categories: 1) the right to present a defense including alternative explanations of the scene and other suspects and impeachment of the quality of the investigation; 2) the right to present a defense undermining the reliability of Allen’s incriminating statements; 3) the constitutionality of those statements made while Allen was gravely disabled in prolonged pretrial solitary confinement; 4) the constitutionality of the search of Allen’s home; and 5) other impactful erroneous evidentiary rulings.”
Allen was convicted Nov. 11, 2024, of two counts of murder for killing Delphi teenagers Libby German and Abby Williams after he abducted the girls from the Monon High Bridge on Feb. 13, 2017. He was sentenced on Dec. 20, 2024, to 130 years in prison. He currently is housed in an Oklahoma prison.
“Counsel needs an additional seven days to ensure they adequately identified and briefed these issues,” the motion states. “Their failure to do so would violate Allen’s right to effective assistance of counsel and become an issue in later proceedings.”
Allen’s case generated 22 volumes of transcripts, and his 25-day trial generated 20 volumes of transcripts, according to the motion.
“(The appeal) is so complex and voluminous that an adequate brief cannot reasonably be prepared by the date the brief is due,” the motion states.
Allen’s appellate attorneys requested that the deadline for the brief be extended until Dec. 17.
The appeals court has not yet ruled on the motions, according to court records.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murderer Richard Allen plans to appeal 10 issues
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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