BOSTON (WHDH) - New England Patriots star Devin McCourty and several community groups gathered in Boston on Monday to show their support for the commutation of William Allen.
The Brockton man was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1997 on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Pervis Bester, who was fatally stabbed during a robbery at his home.
Allen’s co-defendant in the case, Rolando Perry, was the one who stabbed Bester and has since been paroled after accepting a plea deal for second-degree murder.
Allen told the Advisory Board of Pardons that he too was offered a plea deal but turned it down and now regrets his decision.
On Thursday, the board recommended to Gov. Charlie Baker that Allen’s felony murder conviction be commuted to second-degree murder, which would make him eligible for release.
They based their recommendation based on Allen’s acceptance and remorse for the role he played in Bester’s murder, and the work he has done while in prison to rehabilitate himself.
Members of the community gave letters to Baker’s office Monday, including McCourty, as they seek Allen’s commutation.
“I think any time you talk about lives, someone being free, I think that’s kind of a lot of the work that I’ve been doing off the field over the last three or four years is bringing people opportunities, whether it’s been an education, criminal justice, so now you’re talking about having a man be free,” she said. “When a friend of mine reached out to me and told me and I got to learn more then I got to speak to William and it’s kind of a no brainer.”
If Baker were to accept the recommendation, it would be the first pardon or commutation issued by Baker since taking office in 2015 and only the second commutation to be issued by a Massachusetts governor since 1997.
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