Delphi: What Richard Allen's Prison Psychiatrist Put in Writing on April 14

Sep 30, 12:00 PM
Share
Subscribe

The Delphi murders appeal of Richard Allen reached oral argument on September 21, 2026, and one document from Westville Correctional Facility did more work in that courtroom than any other: the psychiatrist's April 14, 2023 order.

Judges Nancy Vaidik, Elaine Brown, and Robert Altice heard Mark Leeman describe what that order records. A prison psychiatrist who had not seen Allen for months came to his cell, found a man who could not communicate and had feces coming out of his mouth, and wrote that he was seriously mentally ill and gravely disabled. To medicate him by force, the doctor had to document when the symptoms began, and he put that date at April 4. Over the following months, Allen received a standard course of Haldol injections plus an emergency dose.

That matters because of a rule the state wrote for itself. Indiana's Department of Correction generally keeps seriously mentally ill prisoners out of restrictive housing, and caps exceptions at 30 days. Allen was there thirteen months. The state's answer at the hearing was that he wasn't classified as seriously mentally ill until the psychosis, and that the diagnosis he received, a brief psychotic disorder, by definition lasts less than 30 days.

Judge Brown asked how that squares with a man who was constantly on suicide watch. Leeman's answer was that it can't be squared.

The state's broader position is that the confessions were voluntary because no one interrogated Allen and the conditions were ordinary custody. Defense attorney Bob Motta joins me to explain why the defense says a cell can coerce as surely as a detective, and what the judges' questions signal about where they may land.

Allen is serving 130 years for the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German. The Court of Appeals has not ruled, and a decision can be appealed to the state's highest court.

Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292

Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod

X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#DelphiMurders #RichardAllen #TrueCrime #DelphiAppeal #AbbyAndLibby #BridgeGuy #IndianaCourtOfAppeals #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #MononHighBridge