Governor Charlie Baker announced he is commuting the sentences of two men charged with first-degree murder.
William Allen and Thomas Koonce will have their sentences reduced to second-degree murder, making each immediately eligible for parole.
“The authority given to me by the people of Massachusetts to commute and pardon individuals is one of the most sacred and important powers of this office,” said Governor Charlie Baker in a statement. “There are few things as important to me in this position as ensuring justice is served for the individuals impacted by a crime and my responsibility to ensure fair application of justice to all. To make these difficult decisions, I spent months carefully weighing the circumstances of the two terrible crimes, the actions of the two men since and the Parole Board’s recommendation for commutation. I believe both men, having taken responsibility for their actions and paid their debt to the Commonwealth by serving sentences longer than most individuals found guilty of similar actions, deserve the right to seek parole from prison. I hope the Governor’s Council carefully weighs the facts of these cases as well as the undeniable impact on the families involved and reaches the same decision.”
Allen was convicted for his role in the murder of Purvis Bester in Brockton. His co-defendant, Rolando Perry, committed the stabbing in 1994 and pled guilty. Perry was later paroled.
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz supported commuting the sentence for Allen, and spoke with WATD in June, 2021.
“[Allen and Perry] were both charged with first-degree murder back in 1994, they were held in custody for a period of time. They were coming up on their trial. As I understand it, back in 1997, the DA’s office at the time, based on their overall looking at the totality of the circumstances of the case, made the determination and offered both individuals to plead guilty to second-degree murder. The principal person, Perry, the person who did the stabbing took that. Mr. Allen did not, went to trial, and he was convicted as a joint venturer for first-degree felony murder.”
First-degree murder sentences do not include the possibility for parole in Massachusetts. Perry was paroled out more than a decade ago.
Family members of Bester told prosecutors they wanted Allen out, as he was 19-years-old at the time of the crime, and he was not the most culpable.
While incarcerated, Cruz says Allen, who is now 48, worked as a mentor to ensure young people did not make the same mistakes he did. He earned licenses to work as a barber, law clerk, and served as a minister for the Catholic community.
“He’s actually done a lot of really good things in there, including mentally-challenged people at Bridgewater State Hospital. He saved a correction guard who had been attacked from other people there at one point,” Cruz told WATD in June. “When you look at the overall package here, I think that this case is worthy of being looked at by Governor Baker. He got my assent to get this case commuted.”
The 54-year-old Koonce, a former U.S. Marine, served 30 years in prison for the murder of Mark Santos in New Bedford. In 1987, he fired a gun out of a car window, fatally striking Santos. He was sentenced to life in prison. He became a leader in prison, and helped inmates participate in programming. He established a restorative justice program at MCI-Norfolk.
The two sentences are the first commutations Baker issued since taking office in 2015.
