Dude spent 26 years in prison for something he didn't do

[microdmitry]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/19/...l?iref=topnews


Wow. And the attorneys HAD EVIDENCE he was innocent and didn't tell anyone. That's messed up.

[ScottB]

It's amazing that sworn officers of the court, in this case the attorneys involved, had their hands tied by the rules of law. If they had come forward, they could have been disbarred and / or sent to jail for contempt of court for violating their client's "attorney / client" privilege.

[Distantshore]

^^^^+1

[jk-27]

Originally Posted by ScottB

It's amazing that sworn officers of the court, in this case the attorneys involved, had their hands tied by the rules of law. If they had come forward, they could have been disbarred and / or sent to jail for contempt of court for violating their client's "attorney / client" privilege.

I read this story, and I find it a feeble excuse that they couldn't say anything. Who here would let an innocent man sit in jail for 26 years so they could keep their job?

Furthermore, do you really think a judge or panel of peers would've disbarred them from telling the truth? Surely a special dispensation would've been made? Do we really live in a society where telling the truth loses you your job? Something is just not right about this whole thing

[ScottB]

Not just their job, but their career choice.

Who here would have spoken up if doing so would result with the court saying you have to turn in your guitars and you can never play guitar again. What if it meant losing your right to ever hold a job as a policeman, fireman, chef, banker, doctor, infantryman, etc. That's what would have happened to the lawyers involved in this case.

[Ibateur]

It would take a very special kind of person to say "I'm going to do the right thing" and sacrifice almost everything he worked for to do that. It happens on TV a lot, but sadly not in the real world that often.

[ScottB]

If the lawyers were married and had children, it would also mean jeopardizing their homes and family's stability due to the loss of their careers.

[jk-27]

Terrific, so we're all saying we'll f*ck someone else over to not have to go through hardship ourselves?

Yes I'd give up my guitar if it meant an innocent person didn't have to give up 26 years of their life. What a ridiculous idea to think otherwise.

What if you were the one in jail, would you be hoping someone came forward? What would you do if you found out someone knew the truth but kept quiet for 26 whole years?

If any one here disagrees with the war in Iraq, but agrees with what these lawyers have done then you're a hypocrite, because we're letting Iraq burn so we can have our nice cars and oil to run them with, and so can our kids when they grow up. Yes I know thousands of Iraqi's are dying because of it, and so are our own brave soldiers, but give up my car, hell no!

Your morals, or lack thereof, astound me sir.

[CosmicDebris]

No one ever said life was fair. Bad **** happens sometimes. Learn to accept it or go nuts.

[ScottB]

I'm not saying it is what I'd do, just that I can understand the reasoning of the parties involved.

I simply posted what the rules of law are in the US and that they were unfair to the attorney if they decided to break them.

My personal morals are not up for discussion.

[microdmitry]

Still, they could have done SOMETHING. Personally, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I was that attorney.

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by jk-27

Terrific, so we're all saying we'll f*ck someone else over to not have to go through hardship ourselves?

Yes I'd give up my guitar if it meant an innocent person didn't have to give up 26 years of their life. What a ridiculous idea to think otherwise.

What if you were the one in jail, would you be hoping someone came forward? What would you do if you found out someone knew the truth but kept quiet for 26 whole years?

If any one here disagrees with the war in Iraq, but agrees with what these lawyers have done then you're a hypocrite, because we're letting Iraq burn so we can have our nice cars and oil to run them with, and so can our kids when they grow up. Yes I know thousands of Iraqi's are dying because of it, and so are our own brave soldiers, but give up my car, hell no!

Your morals, or lack thereof, astound me sir.

Agreed 100%.

Originally Posted by ScottB

I'm not saying it is what I'd do, just that I can understand the reasoning of the parties involved.

I simply posted what the rules of law are in the US and that they were unfair to the attorney if they decided to break them.

My personal morals are not up for discussion.

To even say that one understands the reasoning is absurd, IMO, regardless of position taken.

Edit: I see your point.

[microdmitry]

Originally Posted by waylay00

To even say that one understands the reasoning is absurd, IMO, regardless of position taken.

The reasoning is a lot easier to understand for someone who has a family to feed and a mortgage to pay down. Still, I bet something could be done with little to no negative repercussions.

[waylay00]

Yeah, something surely could have been done.

[Hikey Mikey]

A much better story with more depth and background is on msnbc here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24083675/

I encourage you all to read it and then see if you still feel the same way.

The lawyers were in a horrible position. They were caught between two interests, and their principal interest was that of their client, the actual murderer. It appears they acted much more ethically than lawyers are typically thought of doing. They made inquires, obtained an affidavit (which they kept sealed for those long years), and decided that if the accused innocent man, Alton Logan, had been given the death penalty, they would have appealed to the governor.

W. Jamie Kunz, a lawyer for the actual murderer, Andrew Wilson, spoke of his clilent thusly:

(from the msnbc story) "If I had ratted him out ... then I could feel guilty, then I could not live with myself," he says. "I'm anguished and always have been over the sad injustice of Alton Logan's conviction. Should I do the right thing by Alton Logan and put my client's neck in the noose or not? It's clear where my responsibility lies and my responsibility lies with my client."