Murder charge reduced in Allen case
Dublin Core
Title
Murder charge reduced in Allen case
Subject
Capital punishment
Murder
Mello, Michael
Description
Charges against Jeffrey Allen in the shooting death of Richard Allen have been reduced from first-degree to second-degree murder.
Creator
Gregg, John
Source
Gregg, John. "Murder charges reduced in Allen case," Rutland Daily Herald, August 12, 1995, morning addition.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1995-8-12
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
2 JPGs
300 dpi
Language
English
Coverage
White River Junction, VT
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Prosecutors in the Jeffrey Allen murder case lowered the charges to second-degree murder this week because of concern about proving premeditation in the trial that starts Monday.
White River Junction District Court Judge Shireen Avis Fisher granted a motion from Windsor County State’s Attorney Patricia Zimmerman to amend the charge against Allen from first-degree to second-degree murder.
Allen has admitted shooting his girlfriend’s ex-husband in a Bridgewater mobile home last Christmas Eve, but maintains it was in self-defense, his lawyer says.
Second-degree murder “is easier to prove. Premeditation is not an element for second-degree cases,” Zimmerman said Friday. “That’s the only reason.”
“They obviously didn’t think they had a prayer of convincing a jury on premeditation. There’s no other reason that I can think of,” said Michael Mello, a constitutional lawyer and criminal law professor at Vermont Law School. “They should not have indicted on first-degree murder to begin with.”
Jeffrey Allen was arrested at the Daly Hollow Road trailer he shared with Marjorie Allen shortly after the early morning shotgun shooting of Richard Allen, 58, of Epsom, N.H. The two men are not related.
Richard Allen allegedly broke into the trailer and punched Jeffrey Allen in the face after finding him in bed with Marjorie Allen, according to a state police affidavit.
Jeffrey Allen then secluded himself for five hours in the trailer bedroom while Richard Allen talked to his ex-wife in the kitchen. She divorced her husband in 1992 after a violent and abusive marriage, according to court documents.
Jeffrey Allen told police he believed the other man was drinking beer through the night and Richard Allen had yelled insults at him in a threatening manner. Shortly after 5 a.m., Richard Allen allegedly walked down the trailer hallway, opened the door to the bedroom, and was shot in the chest, police said.
“There’s no question that Jeffrey Allen fired the weapon. We continue to maintain that he did so in self-defense, and that it was a fully justifiable shooting,” said Matthew Levine, Allen’s defense attorney.
Mello, who said he was “loathe to criticize” Zimmerman, said the lesser charges “indicates that she’s pretty nervous about her case. And she should be. This is one of the strongest claims of self-defense that I have seen in a dog’s age.”
He also said that the original first-degree murder indictment may have been an effort by Zimmerman to encourage a plea bargain by Allen.
“One possibility, and prosecutors do this all the time in death cases, is they prosecute high in hopes that getting a first-degree murder indictment will strong-arm the defendant into a plea bargain,” Mello said. “If that was her aim in this case, it obviously didn’t work.”
“I guess the difficulty I have is Mike Mello knows nothing about the case. I don’t see bringing first-degree murder charges an inducing a plea agreement,” Zimmerman responded. “The reality is you always know more about a case after you file charges (and hear from the defense) rather than before you file charges.”
Zimmerman, who is expected to rely on the testimony of Marjorie Allen as a key part of her prosecution, said, “It’s the state’s burden to prove that it wasn’t self-defense.”
Levine declined to reveal whether Jeffrey Allen would take the witness stand.
“He won’t necessarily have to call the defendant,” Mello said. “What’s critical is that Mr. Levine be able to persuade the jury that the defendant subjectively believed that he was in imminent danger by the victim, and that that belief was reasonable.”
And that will depend on the circumstances of the case, other lawyers agree.
“Maybe the guy was terrified. Maybe he wasn’t. And if he was terrified, did have a reason to be terrified?" asked Harry Black, a defense attorney in White River Junction. “If Charles Manson is coming after me with a knife, I have a lot more reason to be scared than someone who I know is a reasonable person and can be talked out of it. I’d have a lot more justification in shooting Charlie.”
Jury selection starts Monday morning, and the trial is expected to last less than two weeks. Allen faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of the new charges.
White River Junction District Court Judge Shireen Avis Fisher granted a motion from Windsor County State’s Attorney Patricia Zimmerman to amend the charge against Allen from first-degree to second-degree murder.
Allen has admitted shooting his girlfriend’s ex-husband in a Bridgewater mobile home last Christmas Eve, but maintains it was in self-defense, his lawyer says.
Second-degree murder “is easier to prove. Premeditation is not an element for second-degree cases,” Zimmerman said Friday. “That’s the only reason.”
“They obviously didn’t think they had a prayer of convincing a jury on premeditation. There’s no other reason that I can think of,” said Michael Mello, a constitutional lawyer and criminal law professor at Vermont Law School. “They should not have indicted on first-degree murder to begin with.”
Jeffrey Allen was arrested at the Daly Hollow Road trailer he shared with Marjorie Allen shortly after the early morning shotgun shooting of Richard Allen, 58, of Epsom, N.H. The two men are not related.
Richard Allen allegedly broke into the trailer and punched Jeffrey Allen in the face after finding him in bed with Marjorie Allen, according to a state police affidavit.
Jeffrey Allen then secluded himself for five hours in the trailer bedroom while Richard Allen talked to his ex-wife in the kitchen. She divorced her husband in 1992 after a violent and abusive marriage, according to court documents.
Jeffrey Allen told police he believed the other man was drinking beer through the night and Richard Allen had yelled insults at him in a threatening manner. Shortly after 5 a.m., Richard Allen allegedly walked down the trailer hallway, opened the door to the bedroom, and was shot in the chest, police said.
“There’s no question that Jeffrey Allen fired the weapon. We continue to maintain that he did so in self-defense, and that it was a fully justifiable shooting,” said Matthew Levine, Allen’s defense attorney.
Mello, who said he was “loathe to criticize” Zimmerman, said the lesser charges “indicates that she’s pretty nervous about her case. And she should be. This is one of the strongest claims of self-defense that I have seen in a dog’s age.”
He also said that the original first-degree murder indictment may have been an effort by Zimmerman to encourage a plea bargain by Allen.
“One possibility, and prosecutors do this all the time in death cases, is they prosecute high in hopes that getting a first-degree murder indictment will strong-arm the defendant into a plea bargain,” Mello said. “If that was her aim in this case, it obviously didn’t work.”
“I guess the difficulty I have is Mike Mello knows nothing about the case. I don’t see bringing first-degree murder charges an inducing a plea agreement,” Zimmerman responded. “The reality is you always know more about a case after you file charges (and hear from the defense) rather than before you file charges.”
Zimmerman, who is expected to rely on the testimony of Marjorie Allen as a key part of her prosecution, said, “It’s the state’s burden to prove that it wasn’t self-defense.”
Levine declined to reveal whether Jeffrey Allen would take the witness stand.
“He won’t necessarily have to call the defendant,” Mello said. “What’s critical is that Mr. Levine be able to persuade the jury that the defendant subjectively believed that he was in imminent danger by the victim, and that that belief was reasonable.”
And that will depend on the circumstances of the case, other lawyers agree.
“Maybe the guy was terrified. Maybe he wasn’t. And if he was terrified, did have a reason to be terrified?" asked Harry Black, a defense attorney in White River Junction. “If Charles Manson is coming after me with a knife, I have a lot more reason to be scared than someone who I know is a reasonable person and can be talked out of it. I’d have a lot more justification in shooting Charlie.”
Jury selection starts Monday morning, and the trial is expected to last less than two weeks. Allen faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of the new charges.
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Brokaw, Marianne
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Gregg, John, “Murder charge reduced in Allen case,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/185.