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Thread: Scottie Dean Allen - Florida Death Row

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    Scottie Dean Allen - Florida Death Row





    Scottie Allen, facing death penalty, set for trial

    Jury selection to get underway on Monday for inmate charged with killing another prisoner at WCI

    By William Snowden
    TheWakullaNews.com

    Jury selection is set to begin Monday, Feb. 18 for the murder trial of Scottie Allen, who is charged with killing his cellmate at Wakulla Correctional Institution in 2017.

    If found guilty of first degree murder, the state will be seeking the death penalty.

    Allen has made the decision to represent himself at trial.

    At a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 6, Allen insisted to Circuit Judge Ron Flury that he wanted to serve as his own lawyer. Allen also told the court that he did not want Assistant Public Defender Nancy Lowery Showalter to assist him or to serve as standby counsel.

    On Oct. 2, 2017, while an inmate at Wakulla Correctional Institution, Allen is charged with killing his cellmate, Ryan Matthew Mason, by strangling him to death. According to the probable cause affidavit, Allen told FDLE investigators that he killed Mason because he found out his cellmate was a child molester.

    Allen was in WCI serving a 25 year sentence for second-degree murder in Broward County.

    Allen has indicated at several hearings that he understands the potential drawbacks of representing himself.

    Asked why he wanted to represent himself, Allen responds: “Nobody knows my case more than I do, better than I do.”

    Allen, who is 41, has told the court he finished 11th grade and later got a GED.

    According to the probable cause, Allen reportedly said he raped Mason over a couple of days prior to murdering him as “retribution” for him being a child molester. He allegedly killed him around 8:40 in the morning, strangling him to death with a shirt around the neck, and then put the body in bed to make it appear he was sleeping.

    After making it through a couple of counts without the dead body being discovered, during the afternoon Allen reportedly went to a female officer in the recreation yard to report it.

    He recounted to the FDLE investigator that he walked up to the female officer and said, “Hey listen, I really hate to ruin your day, but I killed my roommate six and a half hours ago.”

    The officer told investigators that she almost didn’t believe him because his tone was so casual.

    Allen also reportedly sent a letter of confession to Wakulla Chief Prosecutor Brian Miller confessing to the murder.

    At the end of the FDLE interview, Allen reportedly told law enforcement that he wanted to be charged with first degree murder and put on death row, that he did not want to grow old in prison and that if he got out he would do it again.

    Among the aggravating factors cited by the state in its notice to seek the death penalty are that it was a murder committed by a person previously convicted of murder, was especially heinous or cruel, and committed while engaged in robbery or sexual battery.

    According to the probable cause, after the murder, Allen took Mason’s commissary card that had $40 on it and tried to use it, but the “canteen man” wouldn’t let him scan it.

    The autopsy revealed that the shirt used to strangulate Mason had been so tight on his throat that it fractured his spine.

    https://www.thewakullanews.com/conte...alty-set-trial
    Last edited by Steven; 05-13-2022 at 10:30 AM.

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    Murder trial for Scottie Allen is underway

    State rests case on Tuesday for inmate charged with killing cellmate

    TheWakullaNews.com

    A 12-person jury was chosen Monday, Feb. 18, and the trial started Tuesday, Feb. 19 for Scottie Allen, who is charged with killing his cellmate at Wakulla Correctional Institution in 2017.

    If found guilty of first degree murder, the state will be seeking the death penalty.

    Allen, 41, has made the decision to represent himself at trial.

    In very, very brief opening statement, Allen told jurors that he would not be presenting evidence or witnesses for his defense. Instead, he noted that “I don’t have to prove my innocence, they (referring to the state) have to prove my guilt.”

    Wakulla Chief Prosecutor Brian Miller told jurors in his opening statement that the evidence will show that Allen and his cellmate, Ryan Mason, were up for the morning count on Oct. 2, 2017, and that Mason was sitting on his cot and said, “Good morning, sergeant” to the corrections officer doing the count.

    The state went through its case on Tuesday and rested after 3 p.m. The jury was taken out and Allen indicated he would not be putting on a defense.

    Closing arguments were set for Wednesday morning, with the case going to the jury after that. If the jury finds Allen guilty of premeditated murder, a penalty phase of the trial would get underway to see if the jury would recommend a death sentence in the case.

    Wakulla Circuit Judge Ron Flury, who is presiding over the trial, noted that after the state rests is typically when the defense makes a motion for judgment of acquittal, claiming the state has not put on enough evidence of guilt. Judge Flury made a finding that there was sufficient evidence to go forward.

    Sgt. Paul Gray of WCI was the first witness called by the state on Tuesday, and recounted Mason telling him good morning and that he gave him a wave.

    Shortly after Sgt. Gray’s count, a sheet was put up over the cell window. Prison inmates put up a sheet for privacy, such as when they are going to the bathroom.

    According to a taped confession, Allen put the sheet over the window, turned to Mason, tapped him on the shoulder and said, “You’re it,” and began strangling him.

    Allen then put Mason’s dead body back in his cot so it appeared he was sleeping.

    Allen told FDLE Special Agent Dana LaPointe that he killed Mason because he found out his cellmate was a convicted child molester, or a “cho-mo” in prison lingo.

    After making it through a couple of counts without the dead body being discovered, during the afternoon Allen reportedly went to a female officer in the recreation yard to report it.

    Allen was in WCI serving a 25 year sentence for second-degree murder in Broward County.

    Allen also sent a letter of confession to Prosecutor Miller confessing to the murder, but contending it was not a death penalty case.

    Additional evidence put on at the trial included that Allen was wearing Mason’s necklace and watch and had sold Mason’s radio to another inmate.

    Among the aggravating factors cited by the state in its notice to seek the death penalty are that it was a murder committed by a person previously convicted of murder, was especially heinous or cruel, and committed while engaged in robbery or sexual battery.

    The medical examiner testified that the cause of death was ligature strangulation – Mason was strangle with a T-shirt around his neck. The autopsy revealed that the shirt used to strangulate Mason had been so tight on his throat that it fractured his spine.

    With the jury out of the room, Allen told the court on Tuesday that he thought it would only take about 30 minutes for the jury to return a verdict.

    https://www.thewakullanews.com/conte...allen-underway

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    Scottie Allen found guilty of premeditated murder

    Scottie Allen found guilty of premeditated murder for killing his cell mate at Wakulla Correctional, now jury will consider whether to recommend death penalty.

    https://twitter.com/TheWakullaNews/s...88630903308289
    Last edited by Steven; 02-20-2019 at 01:52 PM.

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    Jury recommends death penalty for Scottie Allen

    Allen strangled his cell mate at Wakulla Correctional Institution in 2017

    By William Snowden

    The Wakulla News

    WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 4 p.m.:

    It took the jury less than 30 minutes to come back with a unanimous recommendation for the death penalty for Scottie Allen.

    Wakulla Circuit Judge Ron Flury will decide whether or not to impose the death penalty at a hearing set for April 3. The judge was concerned that Allen, who represented himself at trial, did not put on any potential mitigators during the penalty phase of the trial. Judge Flury ordered a pre-sentence investigation so that any potential mitigating factors might come up – and asked that the investigation look into Allen's mental health history, school records and family background.

    Allen objected to his family being contacted.

    Judge Flury asked, "Does your family know your current situation?"

    "No," Allen said, adding that his mother is very sick and he worried about the potential reaction of hearing what has become of him.

    "I understand," Flury said, and ordered that Allen's family was not to be contacted.

    The jury determined that Allen had committed numerous aggravators that warranted imposition of the death penalty, including that he was convicted of a felony and in prison; that he had previously committed a violent felony; that he committed the crime for financial gain; that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel; and that it was a cold, calculated act. All 12 jurors agreed that Allen should be sentenced to death.

    After the day's hearing, as Allen was being led from the courtroom by bailiffs, walking stiffly with a Bundy Brace on his leg (a device first used on Ted Bundy that allows a defendant to appear in court without chains and can be worn under street clothes but that locks on the knee if the defendant tries to run), Allen turned to the victim's family, sitting in the back of the gallery, waved to them slightly and mouthed the words, "I'm sorry."

    WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 3 p.m.:

    The jury went out at 3 p.m. to deliberate on whether to recommend the death penalty against Scottie Allen.

    Assistant State Attorney Eddie Evans presented the state's case in the penalty phase, contending Allen's crime met the criteria to be considered an aggravating factor that warrants imposition of the death penalty.

    For example, being previously convicted of a violent felony is an aggravator, and it was noted that Allen was already in prison for the the 2003 murder of a woman in Broward County, a woman he strangled to death in her home and then stole the woman's car and some belongings.

    Evans also argued that the murder was especially heinous and cruel, noting that Allen in his confession admitted to raping his victim four times over two days before killing him. In a tape-recorded statement after the murder, Allen said he planned to cut off his victim's genitals and then rape the corpse, but didn't because the victim had soiled himself when he died. Allen laughed on the tape and said Ryan Mason, his victim, had "won that one."

    Allen strangled Mason to death with his hands and a T-shirt.

    "He tortured him," Evans said of the rape, "and then killed him in a very personal and brutal way."

    As he saw Mason was near death, Allen told his victim, "Tell the devil I said hello."

    Noting the medical examiner's estimation that it takes 3 to 5 minutes to strangle a person to death, Evans took out his cell phone and ran the timer for jurors in a silent courtroom. "That's 30 seconds... That's 1 minute... That's 2 minutes."

    WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, Noon:

    It took only about 20 minutes for members of the 12-person jury to come back with a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder against Scottie Allen, who is charged with strangling his cellmate to death at Wakulla Correctional Institution in 2017.

    Wakulla Chief Prosecutor Brian Miller made his closing argument on Wednesday, Feb. 20, going over the evidence of the case and asking the jury to find Allen guilty.

    Allen, who is representing himself at the trial, did not give a closing statement. He has only occasionally spoken during the trial, and only briefly cross-examined one witness, an inmate from the prison who testified that Allen had sold a radio belonging to Ryan Mason to another inmate. Mason is the cellmate Allen is charged with killing.

    The trial is set to go into the penalty phase on Wednesday afternoon when jurors will hear factors to consider in whether to reccomend the death penalty.

    It appears the state will present aggravating factors for the death penalty, such as that the crime was cruel and heinous.

    But Allen told the court – while the jury was out of the courtroom – that he will not be presenting mitigating factors. Typically, the defense in a death penalty case will present factors for the jury to consider to weigh against recommending death.

    Wakulla Circuit Judge Ron Flury, presiding over the trial, asked Allen why he would not present mitigators. Flury warned Allen that, when an appellate court reviews the case, it may look and see "a guy who just wants to die."

    "It will be whatever it will be," Allen responded. He said there was nothing positive about his life – that he had basically spent his entire life in an institution. "If I'm gonna be honest," he said, "I've been a criminal and a crook my entire life."

    Flury suggested that mitigation might be why Allen has spent so much of his life incarcerated.

    "My life has been condicted it way it has for selfishness and greed," Allen answered. "I stole cars and sold 'em." He was already in prison for second degree murder in Broward County, and he noted that he strangled that victim to death with a ligature, just as he had done to Mason.

    Asked by the judge if he wanted to be on Death Row, Allen said it would be preferable to being in prison General Population.

    https://www.thewakullanews.com/conte...-scottie-allen
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Ted's Avatar
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    Given that that Mason guy committed enough sexual offences against children to land him in prison for a total of 275 years, I can't say I'm too sympathetic.

    That aside, this case seems strangely familiar to Robert Gleason a few years ago, given Allen's insistence on being sentenced to death and his threat to continue killing should he not get the needle.
    Violence and death seem to be the only answers that some people understand.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Scottie Allen entered Florida Death Row on 07/23/2019.

    http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSe...&TypeSearch=AI

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    Conviction and death sentence affirmed on direct appeal.

    https://law.justia.com/cases/florida...sc19-1313.html
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    Distributed for conference January 21, 2022.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/21-6328.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Petition for certiorari denied.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Florida
    Case Numbers: (SC19-1313)
    Decision Date: June 3, 2021
    Rehearing Denied: August 17, 2021

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/21-6328.html

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