Comments on: 26-Year Secret Kept Innocent Man In Prison

Lawyers Tell 60 Minutes They Were Legally Bound From Revealing Secret

[junit6986]

This is a travesty of justice. Both of these atty.s should spend 1 month for each year this man served to really know and feel a part of what he not only went through but how lives were changed. They are officers of the court and should never have let an innocent man not only go to jail but for 26 yrs. Yeah they are hurting!I hope they pay when they meet their maker.

Illinois''s crime-fraud exception should have defeated any attorney-client privilege claims--meaning, there is no privilege if the criminal uses his attorneys to assist in the perpetuation of the crime. In this case, the criminal used the attorneys to aid and abet by keeping his secret--arguably a post-hoc conspiracy; but, did they bother to argue the crime-fraud exception? Further, the Illinois Code governing attorney ethics also provides for attorneys to disclose the intent to commit a crime to the courts; again, did these lawyers approach the court on these grounds? This reflects incredibly poorly on the legal profession, and suggests strongly that these lawyers were more concerned about protecting the means of their livelihood (their licenses) than the rights of another person. Indeed, if neither of these Illinois legal exceptions to attorney-client privilege applied, it was a matter of ethics, and both of these lawyers should have put their license on the line rather than remain silent while another man sat, innocent, in prison, robbed of his youth and family.

[jpcontini]

I would never, ever hide behind the privilege and be so anal retentive about the otherwise sacrosanct privilege, when another''s innocent life is at stake. As you may know already:

The bar and case law makes an exception for confidences shared with the lawyer about intentions to commit "future crimes" - those "confidences" are NOT protected by the lawyer-client privilege ... and the same applies to priests, in the context of the "priest-penitent" privilege. Note:

*Only the client confidences as to past crimes are protected by this attorney-client privilege: example:

Privileged: "I killed Tommy yesterday." (Shared confidence as to past crime);

Not privileged: "I am going to kill Tommy tomorrow." (Shared confidence as to future crime)

*Surely a solid, persuasive, moral, ethical, just and righteous argument can (and should!) be made, that the continuing and continuous daily "taking" and "stealing" and "murder" of the wrongfully-confined person''s "life," (by the felonies of false imprisonment, kidnapping, fraud, etc) is a "future crime," falling within the purview of this exception - future in the sense of each and every day and countless "tomorrow" stolen from the wrongfully-incarcerated person, from the innocent inmate who 24/7 suffers the continuing murder and death of their own freedom, life and future.

[bkny69]

Saw this story when originally broadcasted. Now if I understand the attorneys point in the story, he could have intervened if Logan were to be given the death penalty, by coming forward with the information he possessed. So how is it that all of a sudden this information would be allowed and not suppressed as suggested in the other situation (them coming forward when he was sentenced to life). For if this is the angle to get the information out, (i.e. being sentenced to death), then why didn''t the 2 attorneys try to work w/ the DA or the defense attorney to try to make sure he was given the death penalty so that then they could come forward with the information to clear this man... if I follow their logic correctly.

[celad]

It''s tragic that John Piper''s concise "Mercy trumps law" isn''t taught at laws schools or incorporated into our legal system. It would have saved Alton Logan. It''s implicit in what many did in in WWII when they hid Jews and lied to the Gestapo. It''s also brave.

[david19082]

This is a disgrace. These lawyers simple feared disbarment and allowed this inocent man to rot in prison. I hope they rot in h*ll.

[jackintampa]

Saw your story on Alton Logan, the innocent may who spent 26 years in jail when TWO attorney''s knew he was innocent. What another fine example of attorney''s living down to their reputation.... lower than whale do-do.

[kittengloran]

mr.logan should be released and the attorneys should be held to answer for the crime of attemped murder on mr.logan he is a innocence man that should no longer be held for no reason

[katrinanyc1]

Oh, yes, they were just following the rules, folks.

Good grief. And somehow, I think this case is just the tip of the iceberg.

[suelahoo]

Ooops, so sorry about the double-post. It was an accident.

[suelahoo]

Sickening.
I wonder if it might have been a little more difficult for these two miserable clowns to hide the truth if one of them were about to wrongly rot in prison for the next 26 years.
Code of Ethics??("A discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral duty; moral principles or practice.") What a joke.

[suelahoo]

Sickening.
I wonder if it might have been a little more difficult for these two miserable clowns to hide the truth if one of them were about to wrongly rot in prison for the next 26 years.
Code of Ethics??("A discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral duty; moral principles or practice.") What a joke.

[cbssbc3]

I think I understand: Lawyers are bound to aid and abet admitted criminals and their crimes, while simultaneously help to keep innocent people behind bars, if necessary for the rest of the innocents'' lives, if that''s what it takes to keep the guilty clients, free. HOW DID THE LAWYERS SLEEP AT NIGHT FOR THOSE 26 YEARS ?
HOW COULD SUCH A PERVISION OF ANY SENSE OF JUSTICE, EXIST IN ANY SOCIETY ? I''M DISGUSTED

[guesswhoiam3]

Taking the case back to a judge is a legally required formality. Only a judge can dismiss a case.

[robinscat48]

I can''t believe a judge has to decide if he is going to get another tril tomorrow, knowing full well he is innocent. What foolishness.

[accept3]

Sorry last post was for "blitzder"

[accept3]

Vet-Sk - What a joke to sit there and blame everyone else, for this tradgedy, YOU are what is wrong with this country, always trying to blame someone else for problems, the people in this country can''t accept responabilities for their actions, they are cowards, the only person to blame for having a innocent man sit in jail, is the person who did the killing............NO ONE ELSE.............Think about it...........

[adammasri]

See what happens when people don''t watch TV? LA Law had a story like this decades ago. The lawyer bound by attorney-client privilege couldn''t say her client had done the crime. She confided in an older male lawyer, who had attorney-client privilege with the younger female lawyer. The older male lawyer broke his attorney-client privilege by speaking to the press, exonerating the wrongfully accused. He was disbarred, but he''d been getting ready to retire anyway.

Couldn''t something like that have been done in this situation? The two lawyers in this story wouldn''t have violated the law, protecting their careers, yet still would have done the right thing for this man.

And if they were really thinking about him 250 days of every year, couldn''t they put some portion of their earnings in a mutual fund for him, since their silence, and his imprisonment, allowed them to work?

[billbrab]

Rarely have I been so astounded at a story. To have two seemingly educated men sit in front of an interviewer and act like they did nothing wrong while an innocent man was behind bars is shocking.
This is a sad comment on the legal system in our country. The legal system need an overhaul top to bottom. If the system will not protect the innocent because of an implied requirement by council to shield their guilty, unrepentent and boastful client while another man is unjustly convicted, we have a severe problem.
However, the ABA is a self regulatory body and the halls of Congress are filled with lawyers so don''t expect anything to happen. After all, Congress still has done nothing about Larry "wide stance" Craig!
Free Alton Logan immediately! No new trial. No waiting on a judge. JUST DO IT!!!
Also, I hope Mr. Logan at least attempts to civilly sue the two self-righteous lawyers who held this secret for 26 years. Not likely to find council though. Won''t sue there own and cut off the money machine.

[whatithink-2009]

vbnvbnvbn,

What you have said has really made me angry. It makes me angry because so many people have suffered because of it. It makes me angry because people can''t put down their own biasness, stereotypes and prejudices to even sit on a jury to make a decision about someone''s life or death. I''m anti-death penalty because I know juries are flawed and I''d rather spare the life of a 1,000 guilty men than see 1 innocent man be put to death. You have made me even more driven because deficiences the likes of yours have filled our jury boxes and made a mockery of this thing called justice.