Richard Allen joined the Riley administration as Commissioner of Corrections on February 15, 2006. Prior to his appointment, the Decatur native was a member of the Capell & Howard law firm of Montgomery. On December 31, 2004, Commissioner Allen retired from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office where he served as Chief Deputy Attorney General under Alabama Attorney’s General Jeff Sessions, Bill Pryor and Troy King. Commissioner Allen has also served as a law clerk to former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin and later served as Chief Legislative Assistant to Heflin after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Allen received his B.A. from the University of North Alabama in 1963, and his J.D. from the University of Alabama in 1973. He also attended the U.S. Army War College in 1983. Allen, a Vietnam veteran, retired from the Army Reserve in 1993 having attained the rank of Brigadier General.

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