Avoidable Tragedy: Repeat Offender Allegedly Kills Someone Mere Days After Nonprofit Pays for Bail

Few subjects are more touchy that the topic of criminal justice.

From the George Floyd incident to “defund the police,” everybody appears to have a strong opinion on the matter.

That also holds true for the criticism that leftists are far too soft on crime, oftentimes to the detriment of society.

Tragically, the issue reared its ugly head again recently after a horrific shooting in Ohio.

According to Fox News, a repeat offender criminal shot and killed an Ohio man just days after a liberal nonprofit had helped pay for his bail, thus getting him out of prison.

“Donnie Allen allegedly shot and killed 27-year-old Benjamin McComas at a Cleveland light rail station around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14,” Fox News reported.

Before this tragic incident, Allen had built himself quite a rap sheet.

Fox News reviewed court documents revealing that Allen had previously been busted in a Dec. 4 incident that charged with drug possession, breaking and entering, vandalism, obstructing official business, and possessing criminal tools.

Those charges stemmed from a separate incident at a Cleveland light rail station.

Make no mistake, Allen appears to be a career hoodlum.

Allen is a repeat offender who has pleaded guilty or been convicted of a number of crimes over the last several years.

In 2024, he was charged with two counts of attempted burglary, assault on a peace officer, obstructing official business, resisting arrest, and drug possession. In 2022 and 2021, he was charged with burglary. In 2019, he was charged with two additional counts of burglary and one count of criminal damaging.

Despite this lengthy rap sheet, Judge Joy Kennedy — whose long advocated for bail reform — saw fit to lower Allen’s bail for his Dec. 4 incident from $15,000 to $5,000.

From there, a liberal activist group called The Bail Project ponied up the 10 percent ($500) to get Allen out of jail.

When confronted about this, The Bail Project stopped short of expressing regret.

“The Bail Project condemns violence and we are deeply concerned by the recent allegation involving Mr. Allen,” the group told Fox News Digital.

The group further explained: “Our mission at The Bail Project is to ensure that people are not jailed pretrial solely because they cannot afford bail. Our organization exists to address inequities in a system where wealth often determines who remains incarcerated before trial.

“Any loss of life is a tragedy, and we remain committed to building a fairer, more just pretrial system that respects due process, promotes safety, and avoids a misguided reliance on cash bail.”

Fox News tersely added that the group didn’t respond when further asked whether they had considered Allen’s lengthy criminal past when covering his bond.

Social media was awash with fury over McComas’ seemingly avoidable death:

SAY HIS NAME: Ben McComas

Ben was reportedly shot and kiIIed by career criminal Donnie Allen, who was released from custody just days prior.

Allen was bailed out of jail by a leftist organization.

An innocent man is now dead because a dangerous criminal was set free onto the… pic.twitter.com/8Hu5t0q5p8

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 18, 2025

Allen is currently charged with aggravated murder and has been arraigned on a $1 million bond.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.