Alton Lind Logan is receiving a lot of help from people interested in seeing him get back on his feet. One of those persons is Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. “Logan’s dramatic story speaks volumes about the cracks in
Alton Lind Logan is receiving a lot of help from people interested in seeing him get back on his feet.
One of those persons is Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
“Logan’s dramatic story speaks volumes about the cracks in the justice system and how easily people can fall through those cracks if they do not have money or connections,” Brown said. “My dream is to make the statement, ‘Justice for All,’ have literal meaning: equal justice for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, education or economic status.”
Logan was convicted of killing security guard Lloyd Wickliffe during a January 1982 robbery at a McDonald’s located at 11421 S. Halsted St.
Logan was largely convicted on testimony from three McDonald’s employees who said he was the murderer.
Logan, 55, said with Brown’s help, he is hopeful Gov. Rod Blagojevich will pardon him.
“The possibility of a pardon is a good thing. Ms. Brown introduced me to people with the knowledge of how to obtain one, and I appreciate that,” he said.
After spending 26 years behind bars, Logan was freed in April after Andrew Wilson, a convicted cop killer serving a life sentence, confessed to the crime, according to Wilson’s attorneys. Bound by an oath of confidentiality, the attorneys kept the admission a secret until after Wilson died in prison in November 2007.
The charges against Logan were dismissed earlier this month after the Illinois Attorney General’s Office said it would not retry him because it would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Logan was guilty.
Logan’s attorney Harold Winston, said a pardon would not only improve Logan’s chances of finding a job but would also make him eligible for nearly $200,000 in compensation from the state for his wrongful conviction.
Wendell Hutson can be reached via e-mail at whutson@chicagodefender.com.
In photo: Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court, Dorothy Brown (right), has vowed to help Alton Logan in his fight to clear his criminal record of a wrongful conviction, for which he served 26 years in prison.
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