Innocent Man Free After 26 Years In Prison

(CBS/AP)  A man locked away 26 years for murder was granted a new trial and freed on bond Friday with the help of two attorneys who came forward with a client's confession after he died in prison.

Alton Logan's family took up a collection in the lobby of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse and quickly came up with the $1,000 they needed to post bond.

A dozen friends and family broke into applause as Logan, 54, exited the building. He tearfully said it felt "great" to be free before he was whisked away in a black SUV.

Logan's younger brother, Eugene Logan, was adamant that he would be freed after his retrial.

"Nobody deserves to be locked away for 26 years for something they didn't do," said Logan, 48, of Portland, Ore. "It's a blessing today that my brother's been released. He's not been exonerated yet, but we're going back to court, and it will happen."

in March, two attorneys recently revealed that their former client, Andrew Wilson, admitted to committing the crime that has sent Logan to prison, but attorney-client privilege had kept them from coming forward.

Wilson's death last year allowed the attorneys to unseal an affidavit stating that Logan was not responsible for the fatal shooting of security guard Lloyd Wickliffe at a McDonald's restaurant in January 1982.

Dale Coventry, one of the attorneys who signed the affidavit, said Friday night that he hopes prosecutors will acknowledge they went in the wrong direction with the case.

"Poor Mr. Logan was locked up all these years for something he didn't do and that's unfortunate that it worked out the way it did," Coventry said. "I wish (the release) had happened a lot sooner, but unfortunately there was no way to do anything."

The other attorney, W. Jamie Kunz, said he's hopeful for Logan's permanent release.

"At the time the judge was ruling on the new trial, I got a tear in my eye," Kunz said Friday evening. "And after the judge set bond, and I looked at the defense table and saw Alton Logan in tears, I cried too."

Logan told 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon that during the first five or six years of his sentence he was "consumed" by anger. "Then I come to the realization that 'Why be angry over something you can't control?'"

"See, I never stopped giving up hope. I've always believed that one day is gone-somebody's gonna come forth and tell the truth. But I didn't know when," Logan told Simon.

It would be up to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office to prosecute the case because of a conflict of interest for the Cook County State's Attorney's office. Madigan's spokeswoman, Robyn Ziegler, said no decision had been made about a retrial.

"We will carefully review all the evidence in the case and then decide the appropriate next step," she said.

Logan's uncle, Arthur Gordon, 70, of Milwaukee, waited outside the jail, saying he knew his nephew was innocent.

"I knew he didn't do that because I had been talking to him over the years," Gordon said. "He kept his spirit. He said, 'Uncle I have to stay up. I can't go down. I can't go down."'

Logan's family planned to take him for a steak and lobster dinner on his first night of freedom.

"I'm going to turn him on to life," Eugene Logan said. "That's what we're going to do. We're going to live it together."

[cdunagan]

What about cases that have no DNA, and no evidence to put the person at the scene, no dna no fingerprints no camera no nothing. There is no justice in this system, my brother received a life for a crime that he did not do, he has been gone for 11 years left when his son was 4 and now he is 15 years old. They can't go back and get his years back that he has missed from his son and family. As far as i am concerned i have no faith in the system..Back 11 years ago durning my brothers trial we sat in court and saw the victim that was murdered wife while on stand pick out another man in the audience not 1,2 but 3 times then they asked her is that the man who shoot and killed your husband and she said yes, keep in mind my brother was on the other side of his lawyers and they let her come back the next day and pick out my brother after the proceutors went and held his hand up over my brothers head and said to the victims wife you said that you picked the wrong man yesterday because you was afraid for u and your family, what was she afraid of they had moved back to Pakistan....That is why I have the faith in the system, that just want to close a case that fits the description of a BM 5'8 to 5'9 and 160 to 180 pounds..

[e-mail]

[sandzz-2009]

"Any Prosecutor who knowingly sends an innocent man to jail, should be charged with a felony and disbarred..

Posted by Quetzal0666 at 10:12 AM : Apr 21, 2008"

It is an already well established rule of ethics that any lawyer, no matter who she is representing, not put on any evidence or witness that she knows is false. Moreover, if the attorney did put on evidence that she later discovers is false, the rule burdens her with a duty to take reasonable remedial measures such as notifying the relevant panel.

The problem in this case is that the prosecutor did not know that this guy was innocent.

To the posters that claim that the state will in no way be held accountable, you are wrong. This man, will no doubt, receive fair compensation in the amount of a couple of million for the deprivation of liberty and lost opportunity that the state has caused him. This compensation, undoubtedly, will allow this guy to sit at home and never work a day in his life. So, how is the state not being held accountable?

Moreover, holding the state accountable does nothing more than stretch the already overextended public purse. Who else do you think will pay this man if not the taxpayer. Maybe the insurance company if the state is insured against these risks but for the most part, it will be the tax payers bankrolling this compensation plan.

[tariba001]

I pleaded guilty to a 1 count of Lew & lascivious Excibition under 16 in March 18 2004. Was deported separated from my children and wife, and destroyed. In February 2008 I lost my parental rights to my 6 years old Phoenix Villamizar in a Miami Juvenile Court. Caused by Lt Firefigther Eduardo Gomez of Fire Rescue No-3,of Miami. I was given as part of the discovery a document"Arrest/Affidavit" written by arresting Police officer Steven Machado(4455.Machado made another false report to DCF.Have me lost my son Phoenix Villamizar in family Court and convicted of L&L charges made by Lt, Gomes4s apt, managers.ARREST/AFFIDAVITT was hidden by the State Attorneys Office from my defense lawyers It re-appeared while waiting deportation.I lost my civil rights after Judge Jerald Klein "Baker Acted" due charges made by Gomes4s apt managers. Gomes4s pay back for I having filed a complaint with Fire Chief William Bryson of Rescue N0-3, against Gomez for breaking Fire Codes where I lived with my family in a Gomez4s relatives apt.Gomez and Detective Sergio Dietz,Records Cleck Helen Heyward illegally accessed over 17 criminal police records(of other people)that Gomez used in a Federal Housing suit to win a case.It is not uncommon for an innocent person to spend years in jail for false acusations made by police officers and Fireman in Miami.I would have spend years in jail just like Mr. Alton Logan.I have over 100 pages of evidence against Gomez and the Florida State Attorneys Office.

[tariba001]

Gerardo Villamizar,pleaded guilty to a 1 count of Lew & lascivious Excibition under 16 in March 18 2004. Was deported to Venezuela, separated from my children and wife, and life destroyed. In February 2008 I lost my parental rights to my 6 years old Phoenix Villamizar in a Miami Juvenile Court. This mess was caused by corrupted, Lt Firefigther Eduardo Gomez of Fire Rescue No-3,of Miami,and his friends in the Miami Police Department.I was given as part of the discovery a document"Arrest/Affidavit" written by arresting Police officer Steven Machado(4455.Then Machado made a second false report to the Department of Childrens and Families(DCF) where he comitted perjury to have me lost my son Phoenix Villamizar in family Court and convicted of L&L charges made by Lt, Gomes4s apt, managers.ARREST/AFFIDAVITT was hidden by the State Attorneys Office from my defense lawyers and re-appeared a few weeks while waiting deportation.I lost my civil rights because Judge Jerald Klein had me "Baker Acted" due charges%

[beehive21-2009]

How long will Mr. Logan be free, before he''s arrested for a new crime ?

[quetzal0666]

i left out a few words,
Any Prosecutor who knowingly sends an innocent man to jail, should be charged with a felony and disbarred..

[quetzal0666]

the Laws Should be Changed, so that any prosecutor who knowingly sends a man to jail shoud be charged with a Felony!!!!

[facts6]

"""The well connected do not sit on death row, ever!!!!!"""

Well ... there''s Scott Peterson.

[donlb-2009]

What about the attorneys who withheld the information due to attorney-client privilege. Will they be held accountable? Or will the legal system ignore the fact that they withheld evidence? But more importantly, do they really care?

[flajoe1]

By that token then the Duke guy who was falsely accused of rape was partially responsible because he had attacked a gay person----
Posted by whatithink at 03:48 PM

If what you said is true then yes he was. He did something that caused the police to take a closer look him. Over all, the Duke students had no criminal records especially concerning rape. This caused people the question the charges. So having no criminal record helped them beat the charges. In Logan''s case he had a history of armed robbery. This worked against him. I''m glad he is getting out and he should be allowed to sue anyone he wants. But I still say he bares some responsibility because he had a criminal record for armed robbery. If he had never committed the first crime. The police would have never picked him up to begin with.