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State Pardons Crotzer Of Old Convictions

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Allen J. Crotzer, the former St. Petersburg resident who spent 24 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, got a fresh start Tuesday when the state cleared his record of two unrelated convictions.

Crotzer, 47, was convicted in 1981 of raping two women during a robbery in Tampa, crimes that DNA evidence proved in 2006 that he did not commit. The state released Crotzer and awarded him $1.25 million to compensate him for his years in prison.

Tuesday, the state Clemency Board pardoned him in an unrelated 1979 robbery case. Crotzer said he had stolen beer from a store but he wound up being convicted of robbing the store at gunpoint. He was also found guilty in 1991 of bringing drugs into prison while wrongfully incarcerated. Crotzer said he had sold the drugs, but only under pressure from a corrupt guard.

The clemency board pardoned Crotzer in both cases and ordered that his record be expunged of the charges.

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