Derrick allen
Alleged Crime(s)
Derrick Michael Allen was arrested in Durham County in relation to the 1998 death and sexual assault of 2 year-old Adesha Artis. On February 9, 1998, Allen was watching his then-girlfriend’s daughter when she died from shaken baby syndrome. The emergency responders who arrived after Allen called 911 found the child dead with blood on the inside of her clothing. Examinations during her autopsy revealed a tear and blood in her vagina. Arrest & Trial Allen was arrested on the same day, though maintained that he was innocent of assaulting the child. He was indicted for first-degree murder, first-degree sexual offense with a child, and felony child abuse. In 1999, Allen entered an Alford plea, under which he did not actually admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty. The plea deal he agreed to sentenced him to prison for at least 44 years and allowed him to avoid the death penalty. Post-Conviction & Exoneration Soon after entering prison, Allen began to challenge his conviction, arguing that his court-appointed attorneys did not provide adequate representation and that he received a more severe sentence than he should have. Allen filed an appeal, which was granted by the state Court of Appeals in March 2009, allowing for a retrial. During the course of her review, Allen’s new lawyer Lisa A. Williams discovered that various pieces of important information were withheld from Allen during the course of his case. These included: police reports demonstrating that the only witness against Allen was a woman with whom he had previously had a sexual relationship and who now considered Allen an “enemy”; the results of an SBI polygraph test of the witness; Artis’ medical records; and SBI laboratory tests disproving that there was blood on Artis’ underwear, which was the primary evidence corroborating the sexual assault charge. Williams argued that the intentional withholding of the information was improper and violated his constitutional rights so as to negatively affect the outcome of his case. Furthermore, Allen’s lawyer suggested that other possible suspects were not appropriately investigated. Given that many years had passed since Artis’ death, in October 2010 Williams argued for the charge to be dismissed. In December 2010, Durham County Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson dismissed Allen’s case based on the state’s failure to provide him with the accurate laboratory report and other relevant information. Allen was freed in 2010, after spending 12 years in prison. |
County: Durham
Crime: First-Degree Murder, First-Degree Sexual Offense, Felony Child Abuse Victim: Adesha Artis Date of Crime: February 9, 1998 Date of Conviction: 1998 Date of Exoneration: 2010 Sentence: Minimum of 44 years Race: Black Gender: Male Age at Arrest: 19 Contributing Factors: Evidence withheld DNA Exoneration: No |