Alonzo Allen's Freedom Fund

After 10 years in prison, Alonzo Allen was released from David Wade Correctional Center on October 14, 2021. When Alonzo Allen was given a 40-year sentence for drugs, he believed he would die in prison. He was 48 years old. People serving drug-related sentences in Louisiana are entitled to a chance at parole, but the judge who sentenced Mr. Allen’s had illegally denied him parole eligibility. Mr. Allen spent nearly a decade in prison thinking he had no hope of release. Nevertheless, he attended 12-step meetings and religious services to help him understand his drug addiction and the damage it had done to him and his family, he earned his GED, and he stayed out of trouble in prison earning a spot in the “honor” dormitory.

 

When IPNO’s Unjust Punishment Project learned about Mr. Allen’s sentence, its staff worked to correct the parole restriction. Last month, Mr. Allen and his IPNO lawyers appeared before the parole board. The board 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.  On October 14, he met his brother Claude outside David Wade Correctional Center, a prison he never thought he would leave alive.

 

All donations to this fundraiser will go to Mr. Allen. If you have questions, concerns, or would prefer to mail a personal check (please write the recipient as Alonzo Allen, not IPNO), please contact us by clicking on the "contact" button on this page. Mr. Allen also has an Amazon wishlist set up here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SNWQAY7S4HX8?ref_=wl_share