Skip Navigation | HOME | UK Indymedia | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

manchester Indymedia

Terry Allen - Hostage of the State

George Coombs | 27.03.2010 16:30 | South Coast

In 1969 I burgled the Horncastle Garage and stole some money, I worked
for the place and got questioned about the burglary but was never charged.
A while later I read in our local newspaper that a lad got sentenced to two
years in prison for my crime. I wondered how on earth did he get convicted
because obviously there couldn’t have been any evidence against him.”

-1-
Terry Allen – Hostage of the State
My activities among people in prison and hurt by the system frequently render me disgusted by the corruption and cruelty that seem so commonplace. Terry Allen’s case is one such example and in a recent letter placed in the public domain at his request, he told me –
“In 1969 I burgled the Horncastle Garage and stole some money, I worked
for the place and got questioned about the burglary but was never charged.
A while later I read in our local newspaper that a lad got sentenced to two
years in prison for my crime. I wondered how on earth did he get convicted
because obviously there couldn’t have been any evidence against him.”
Subsequently Terry was arrested for another burglary and he confessed to the Horncastle Garage job telling the local police an innocent man had been imprisoned for his crime, their reply –
“You ever tell anyone what you have just told me and you will find yourself
So deep in shit you’ll never find your way out of it.”
Terry was just seventeen years old at the time and he goes on to comment that “Reading police force have been setting people up for some time.” This raises an issue those protesting their innocence are always faced with namely, the integrity of the police investigation. It takes hard work and stress to refer a case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and even more of this before a case is before the courts. If someone is innocent of the matter over which they have been charged they may be sure there will be those in the system who are only too well aware of this.
Often there is a reluctance to be critical of the police in anyway. Crucial to this, I personally feel, is the fact that police and other areas of the system can get away with far too much far too easily and they know it.
At the moment Terry is confined to H.M.P. Coldingley having been found guilty on May 9th 1986 of the murder of his friend twenty six year old Anita Kirkwood – his sentence was life sentence with a sixteen year tariff.
A friend discovered Anita’s body her hallway at approximately 9 a.m. on 17th July1985. On the 18th of July, following the discovery of his girl friend in bed with
another man, Terry attempted suicide and was found in a car by ambulance staff trying to end his life by carbon monoxide poisoning.
The ambulance men broke his two front teeth in order to insert an airway. In hospital Terry was attached to a life support machine for two days and received a complete blood transfusion as his blood was 76% contaminated with carbon monoxide poisoning.
A week later police removed him from hospital. At this time the police were given twenty “sedatives” for Terry with instructions to give him two of these tablets each day. There were, then, no external injuries and Terry is questioned for two days.
Then when taken to HMP Winchester Terry had a large burn hole in his right
ankle and his left arm was bruised black and blue from wrist to shoulder. Also, when Terry was released from hospital police were given, as we have noted, twenty sedatives yet he is handed over to Winchester prison with forty six sedatives inevitably raising the question where did the additional sedatives come from and how many, if any, had he been given.
Terry has told me he remembers neither his time in police custody or his alleged confession which he had not even seen before being committed to crown court in October 1985. Neither does he remember ever being declared fit to be detained and questioned.
In documents that I have seen, Terry argues as to the judge’s misdirection of the Jury and plans regarding an appeal are in hand. Terry’s case is another clear indication of the bullying and corruption that identify the British “justice” system. Terry has even named the person he knows to be actually responsible for Anita’s death. In June 1986 he was visited in prison by police from Kidlington who confirmed his suspicions.
Terry was, at that time effectively declared innocent yet, the police told him they could do nothing as the case was closed and their hands were tied unless and until it was re-opened. Terry wrote to the home office who contacted the relevant police force only to be told that Terry had lied to them and that he was, in their view, guilty of Anita’s murder.


Terry was assured by his Q.C. that all needed witnesses will be called to court yet Terry states that no defence witnesses were called. The first witness called is Anita’s sister Marion. It transpired that the statement Marion was shown was not the one given to the police; Terry claims she is telling the truth and his Q.C. knows this very well. Even his own defence team seemed to be complicit in taking Terry’s freedom from him.
Terry argues that the entire case against him was manufactured by Reading Police and that are guilty of falsifying statements and forensic evidence, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury. Police have even gone to the length of superimposing Terry’s teeth marks on Anita’s left breast thereby linking his physical presence to Anita. Terry’s defence Q.C. Mr. Conti made know effort to question this sample of faked evidence.
DNA results are needed to prove Terry's innocence, there has been seemingly endless delay over gtting these results the lates thing he has heard is that the results may be 3-6 months as "we don't want to make a mistkake little wonder Terry describes this as "completer and utter bullshit -Terry describes British justice as "cess pit justice" is it any wonder
This is a necessarily brief summary. I would ask concerned comrades to write to Terry expressing solidarity, he is at –
Terrence William Allen
A6119AD A102
H.M.P. Coldingley
Bisley
Woking
Surrey
GU24 9EX
George Coombs


George Coombs

Download this article in pdf format >>

Email this article to someone >>

Submit an addition or make a quick comment on this article >>

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. More infromation, and not about Terry — Me

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Manchester Topics

Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Manchester Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Manchester Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Manchester Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Manchester Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Manchester Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Manchester Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Manchester Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Manchester Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

Languages

english

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech