By Melanie Eversley

New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty is taking on a new position — pushing Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to commute the prison sentence of WIlliam Allen, a Black man from Brockton, Mass., who has been incarcerated for 27 years.

During a rally Monday on the steps of the Massachusetts State House, McCourty quoted civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, saying “Each of us is more than the worst we’ve ever done.”

Directing his words to the governor, who has never commuted a sentence, McCourty said, “I hope and pray you decide the best place for him is to lay his head is outside of prison.”

McCourty is part of a groundswell of people pushing for the release of Allen, serving a life sentence for murder. In 1994, Allen took part in an armed robbery. A friend, Rolando Perry, fatally stabbed the victim and, after a plea deal, was released from prison 10 years ago. Allen rejected a plea and was convicted of felony murder as a “joint venturer,” according to the Boston Globe.