Deceased: Margaret Allen

Florida DOC records show that Margaret Allen died yesterday after over 10 years on Florida's death row.

Photo of Margaret Allen accessed from DOC

According to Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) records, Florida death row prisoner Margaret Allen died Friday while in DOC custody after serving over 10 years on death row for crimes that occurred in Brevard County in 2005.

I met Allen on the Judge Mounts Prison Tour in 2023.¹ At the time, she was one of 3 women on Florida’s death row, housed at Lowell Correctional Institution. Since then, Tiffany Cole was resentenced to life. At the time of her death, Allen was one of only two women on Florida’s death row. Now, there is only one woman on Florida’s death row.

Allen would’ve turned 58 in January.

The cause of Allen’s death is unclear. State policy requires that an autopsy be performed for all deaths; however, those records would only be accessible through a public records request.

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Background on Allen’s Sentence of Death

At trial in September 2010, Margaret Allen was convicted of first-degree murder. After the penalty phase, the jury unanimously recommended a sentence of death. In 2011, the trial court sentenced Allen to death. In July 2013, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Allen’s sentence of death on direct appeal. Her sentence became final on October 2014.

In January 2019, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s order denying Allen’s motion for postconviction relief.

1. For the full series from this tour, go here.