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

Lawyers Tell 60 Minutes They Were Legally Bound From Revealing Secret

[blitzder]

Its no surprise this happened, for law enforcement, lawyers and politicians in the US, this evil is only a vicious game. People around the world watch aghast as time after time, these evil groups compete among themselves as to which one would deny innocent minority people any semblance of common justice. Bush, the elder who engineered the first Iraq war in 91, was one of these ugly Americans. He wanted to be known as the games'' Grand Master to deny innocent non-white people simple justice and for skewing any semblance of public morality, and took this game overseas. The whole foreign policy mess and the subsequent deaths of innocent Americans/Iraqis from the 91 war,the 9/11 carnage, the 2003 Iraq invasion, the whole mideast imbroglio, Somalia etc, have connections to this decadent and tragic GAME. But the bigger tragedy in all this is how these evil doers sit back enjoy the subsequent and horrific mayhem.

[whatithink-2009]

"This guy probably did something to have been locked up for that he wasn''''t caught for anyway.
Posted by vbnvbnvbn at 09:03 PM : Mar 11, 2008"

And you are part of the problem. I can imagine this is why the jury had such an easy time convicting him. They just saw poor black man and assumed he was guilty of something. Shameful. He spent 26 years in prison thanks to the problem of people like yourself.

Have you heard of the words INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY? You are ANTI-AMERICAN. These words mean something. There are plenty good people out there who are poor and black.

Should we assume you are guilty of something, too?

[vet_sk]

It is like all the people that believed the bogus evidence on Iraq. The US convicted, invaded, and occupied Iraq - totally under false pretenses. And there were star witnesses like Scott Ritter that was on every channel saying that Iraq weapons were not a threat to the US or its allies. He was right and we could have saved 4000+ American, 40,000 lifetime injuries, and 1,000,000 or more Iraqis.

Obama spoke out agains the war...many more us did too.

[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?

[tonjab2]

I guess you missed my posting. So here it is again. Something has to be done so that another innocent person does not go thru what Mr. Logan has gone thru. There must be a new avenue administered, such as, the attorney representing a client who confesses to the crime for which another person who is innocent of the crime will be given some form of consideration for release. I think the law should be that if an attorney is aware of information that their client is guilty the attorney is required by law to inform the courts without jeopardizing the attorney/client relationship that the person who is in prison is innocent, because, the client that they are representing has admitted that he is guilty of that crime. They can call it the "Alton Logan defense law". Then their Supreme Court can bring the inmate before the Pardons Board without any explanation other than the person is to be released under the "Alton Logan defense" and then let the appeals court continue on until the inmate is exonerated thru the court system. Tonja Brown

Arendena would like to see these attorneys disbarred. Sadly, to the contrary, they would have been disbarred had they betrayed their client by coming forward.
So far, there have been 64 pages of comment on this sad story, but no suggested reasonable solution. None from judges nor legal scholars. Best we''ve got is a tv script requiring an about-to-retire martyr. They would seem to accept that on occasion the innocent must rot.
Is there no way that the knowing defense attorney can credibly report his knowledge of a defendant''s innocence to the district attorney without compromising the identity of his client. Perhaps the day will come when society will value the freedom of the innocent enough to grant immunity to the perpetrator who admits to the crime. But first judges will have to be convinced in each case that the confession is not just a ruse to take the fall.

[Deltajoan]

What a joke our justice system is if we allow this terrible injustice to happen! What a joke! I just can''t believe this was allowed to happen and that this man, who is innocent, should have to remain inside this prison any longer is a horrible travesty of justice! FREE HIM NOW! DON''T PROLONG HIS SUFFERING! When he is freed, give him lots of money for his being incarcerated for such a long time for a crime he didn''t commit. Come on, guys! Give this man a break and let him finish out his life in comfort with his brothers! This is awful. I would have faced disbarment before I would have allowed an innocent man to serve one day in a prison for a crime he didn''t do much less 26 years!!! I always took up for lawyers with all the jokes that go around about them, but now I''ve joined the hate club! How do you guys sleep at night? How could you have allowed this horrible injustice to take place to save your career? How? I will never understand this. It''s a crime.

[doublebass25]

I believe the death penalty is a deterrent; it deters people from taking the law into their own hands. But in order to have the state provide this service we have put innocents to death. Statistically the probability of this exists. This is a penalty that cannot be corrected. I submit that all lawmakers and officers of the court are aware of this and are therefore culpable--they all have blood on their hands and shame on them for not standing up for what%u2019s right. But when you have narrow minded thinkers such as Associate Justice Scalia, who in oral arguments asks, (for example) %u201CCan you point to a specific part of the constitution that grants these rights?%u201D--who limits his thoughts so, I ask: %u201CCan you point to a specific part of the constitution that requires you to use it as the sole basis for your decision making and for all arguments presented to you?%u201D This man came two votes short of death. If you believe the attorneys, it might have been better if he had been sentence to death, then they would have come forward and things might have changed way back in the 80%u2019s. This next presidential election is not about race, age or gender. It%u2019s about the Supreme Court. Three or four justices will, in all likelihood, retire in the next four to eight years. Those courts will do more to shape our future than Barack, Hilary or John. Vote accordingly.

[Eric85208]

This is the biggest outrage I have ever seen.
These two lowlife parasites, Dale Coventry and Jamie Kunz have the unbelievable gall to show their faces to the nation and claim %u201Clegal ethics%u201D (an oxy-moron if I ever heard one) as an excuse for letting an innocent man spend 26 years in prison? Any person with an ounce of humanity or any sense of justice would have found a way to keep this from happening. These two exemplify why the public regards lawyers as lower than murderers, rapists and child molesters.

[arendena]

I was absolutely aghast to think these two attorneys would allow an innocent man to rot in jail for a crime he didn''t commit; actually, they have ruined his life, whatever time he has left. The Illinois State Bar should step in and censure these men; in fact I would like to see them disbarred immediately. They could have done something; they chose not to. These two attorneys should step up to the plate and give Mr. Larson a monetary gift for what they did to him. Further, the Illinois General''s office should not give this man a new trial--he should be released immediately.

[ericv2644]

I wonder if it was the Brother of one of those lawyers would they have remained silent. I think their actions are criminal as officers of the court they should have taken an oath to the truth. They should have to spend time in jail for their silence. If they are right then the law is broken and needs fixed.

[clusterbuck]

typical of lawyers.... reminds of the saying...what do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean... a good start

[clusterbuck]

Typical..reminds me of the statement...what do you call 10,000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean....a good start...

[anya72]

It is outrageous that these lawyers followed rules at the expense of a higher morality. It occurred because they lacked empathy and the ability to discriminate and the courage to do what is right. Justice (which is not the same as legal correctness) must be done to make this right.

[cvenable39]

No sympathy for the 2 attorneys. If it had been their son or father or brother who was wrongly convicted, they would have found a way to intervene. They should both be sent to prison; after all, it doesn''t matter if they are guilty or not. Wonder if anyone would speak up for them? No me.

[a1a1day]

sorry for so many entries, my computor is messing up!

[a1a1day]

What oath did these two wing nuts take? The Hypocritic oath? They were qouted as saying, "the system would not work" without the client/attorney privledge. Ask Mr. Logan if the system worked for him. "The system" was designed to protect the innoccent, not ruin and innocent man''s life. Not only is there a much needed change is Washington, but we as a people need to change, and put right and wrong ahead of self advancement and status quo.. Man would benefit,mother earth would benefit, and our position in eternity would benefit. I sure hope the good Lord is far more forgiving than "WE THE PEOPLE", because if not, Mr.Kunz and Mr. Coventry are in Big trouble. SHAME!SHAME!SHAME! A MAN''s LIFE IS NOT A GAME!!!

[a1a1day]

If Dr.s are required to take the hypocratic oath, what oath did Kunz and Coventry take? " The Hypocritic oath? They claim in their defense that, "the system would''nt work without it". Ask Mr.Logan if the system worked for him? What is obvious for ALL Americans to see is.. not only do we need a change in Washington, we also need to change as a people, and ask ourselves( regardless of status quo, or rules)is it right?? Mr Logan was a sacrificial lamb, so the two attorneys could selfishly advance their carrers!! Shame! Shame! Shame! Gary Jones Virginia Beach, VA

[a1a1day]

Are you kidding me? These two attorney''s (Coventry& Kunz) are the epidamy of why this country is the way it is! To KNOWINGLY let an innoscent man go to prison for 26 years in inexcuseable. Have they heard of "The Serenity Prayer?" more specifcally, the part about, "grant me the courage to change the things I can". They used the "rules of conduct for attorneys" excuse to justify their cowardly act and in doing so, Ruined a mans life!

[a1a1day]

Are you kidding me? These two attorney''s (Coventry& Kunz) are the epidamy of why this country is the way it is! To KNOWINGLY let an innoscent man go to prison for 26 years in inexcuseable. Have they heard of "The Serenity Prayer?" more specifcally, the part about, "grant me the courage to change the things I can". They used the "rules of conduct for attorneys" excuse to justify their cowardly act and in doing so, Ruined a mans life!