Every morning after Alton Lind Logan wakes up, he takes a shower, gets dressed, makes himself a cup of tea, then sits outside to listen to birds chirping and squirrels playing. “Sometimes I’ll take pictures of them and the trees.
I find this fascinating because I didn’t see things like this while incarcerated,” said Logan, 54. This has been his routine since he was released from prison last month after spending 26 years behind bars for a murder he said he didn’t commit.
The last time Logan was free, cellular phones did not exist, Michael Jordan was still in college, a pack of cigarettes cost less than $2, and welfare recipients were using paper food stamps instead of a Link card.
“It’s a hard transition and a slow process but I’m getting there,” he said. “I just have to remember that I am not behind bars anymore.” A huge White Sox fan, Logan attended a White Sox game last month after someone donated tickets to him.
He said the Sox home, U.S. Cellular Field, is beautiful. The baseball stadium was not built prior to his incarceration when the Sox played at Comiskey Park. The ballpark was later renamed U.S. Cellular Field. The United Center on the West Side, where the Chicago Bulls play their home games is another stadium that was not yet built.
Navy Pier was closed and the McCormick Place was a fraction of the size it is today. And while everyday routines were a part of his prison experience, Logan said getting readjusted to life is not a routine but a learning process. “Every day I learn new things that may be basic for others such as using the phone or a DVD player,” Logan said.
“I still am not used to using a phone but I’m getting there.” One thing Logan said he never got used to was prison fare. Breakfast was served at 3 a.m., lunch at 9 a.m. and dinner at 4 p.m. “The food in prison will not fill you up and is not tasteful either,” Logan recalls. “I was so happy when I was able to eat ‘real’ turkey and not that processed meat prisons serve.” His favorite foods include seafood, turkey and German chocolate cake.
He enjoys steak, chicken, rice, and macaroni and cheese. Inmates were also given one hour a day for recreation time. Logan said he would read books by Tom Clancy and Steven King during his recreation time and now enjoys watching cable shows like The Closer and Saving Grace. And among the things he said he regrets today is not having any children.
He also isn’t married. “Who wouldn’t want someone left behind after you’re dead and buried to carry on your name and legacy,” he said. However, he does have a girlfriend whom he said did 25 of the 26 years with him while in prison. “She wrote me letters and visited often,” he said. “She is an amazing woman and I would be crazy not to marry her, which I plan to do in the next year. There’s nothing like the touch of a woman.”
Being kissed and loved by a woman is another basic privilege a person misses while in prison, he said. And although he witnessed two men having consensual sex Logan said while incarcerated one ever made a move on him. In 1996 when Logan’s mother, Mary Logan, died of cancer he was not permitted to attend her funeral.
“Although I could not attend her funeral I was allowed to visit with her before she passed away,” said Logan who visited her gravesite at the Burr Oak Cemetery in southwest suburban Alsip 24 hours after he was released from prison. At age 2 his father died. Logan admits he never knew his father but said he does have two younger brothers.
One brother lives in Chicago and the other one lives in Portland, Ore. For now, Logan lives with his uncle Milan, 71, and aunt Barbara, 68, Cannon on the South Side. “Even though he’s a grown man I still worry about him if he is out late,” said Milan. “I know all it takes is for him to be with the wrong crowd to send him back to prison and we don’t want that to happen.”
Logan’s attorney Harold Winston, a Cook County public defender, declined to discuss details of the case and advised Logan to do the same. In April a Cook County Circuit Court judge vacated Logan’s conviction in the murder of a security guard during a January 1982 robbery at a McDonald’s restaurant located at 11421 S. Halsted St.
The judge ordered a new trial, citing new evidence, including the words of two attorneys who testified in court this year that their client, who has since died, committed the murder. Logan’s last court appearance was May 12 at which time the Illinois Attorney General’s Office did not appeal a previous judge’s decision to grant Logan a new trial.
The courts also granted Logan permission to travel out of state to attend a relative’s high school graduation. The state is now reviewing the evidence to decide if there is enough to retry him, said Robyn Ziegler, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Attorney General Office. Logan’s next court appearance is July 7. “We had hoped to be celebrating his full vindication by now but we’ll have to wait a little while longer,” Winston said.
“I am confident Logan will be cleared of these charges and allowed to finally get on with his life.” Logan offered his views on what he considers the cause of some of the teen violence of late. He blames teenage pregnancy for most of it. “Too many young girls are having babies and not raising them right because they are still growing up themselves,” he said. “The law is to blame as well because it took discipline out of parents’ hands and out of schools.”
Barbara recalls what Logan’s mom did when he got out of line. “She would beat his butt with her houseshoe,” she said. “And if the neighbors saw him cutting up they would beat his butt too.” While still fighting his case and looking for employment, Logan said he plans to open his own construction company in the next five years.
“I like working with my hands. I built a lot of different things while locked up,” he added. “I made plaques, coffee cup holders and wine racks. Working with my hands is what I am good at.” He would also like to do some traveling, another privilege he said many people take for granted. He plans to go on his first cruise this year with his girlfriend.
Growing up in the West Pullman community on the far South Side was not an easy task for Logan who attended Fenger Academy high school before dropping out in his junior year. “I have been back to my old neighborhood and seen a lot of my old friends who still live over there, and trust me, I won’t be going back there no time soon,” Logan said.
“I can’t stand to see how bad the area has changed and plus I know if I were to start hanging with my old buddies, it could land me back in prison.” Not finishing high school is something else he regrets. “I was hard-headed back then and didn’t want to listen to anyone,” he recalls. “I’m just thankful that I got my act together and earned my GED while in prison.”
Logan was imprisoned at Stateville prison in Joliet. He also earned an associate degree in applied sciences while incarcerated along with numerous other certificates of completion. Now, a faithful member of Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, Logan said his faith in God keeps him strong these days. “God has given me a second chance and I plan to use it wisely this time,” he said.
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