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Man Granted Retrial After 26 Years Behind Bars

Confession of actual gunman finally released after his death

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 19, 2008 6:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – Alton Logan tasted freedom yesterday for the first time in 26 years after being granted a new trial, reports the Chicago Tribune. The Illinois man was locked up in 1982 for killing a security guard. Another man confessed to the killings but his attorneys, prevented from coming forward by attorney-client privilege, did not reveal the confession until the man died last year.

Logan is now free on bail after the judge decided there was "a reasonable probability" he would be acquitted if prosecutors tried him again for the crime. "He's not been exonerated yet, but it will happen," said his brother. Logan, tears streaming down his cheeks, told reporters he was doing "fine" and left the prison grounds with his family.

Family members of Alton Logan, Pauline Buccanan, left, Janet Logan and Eugene Logan cry as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial.
Family members of Alton Logan, Pauline Buccanan, left, Janet Logan and Eugene Logan cry as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial.   (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Alton Logan hugs family members, Barbara Cannon, left, and Veryle Mattox as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial for Logan who has served 26 years in prison.
Alton Logan hugs family members, Barbara Cannon, left, and Veryle Mattox as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial for Logan who has served 26 years in prison.   (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Inmate Alton Logan speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in a visitors room at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Ill., Thursday, March, 27, 2008.
Inmate Alton Logan speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in a visitors room at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Ill., Thursday, March, 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Alton Logan hugs his godmother Veryle Mattox as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial for Logan, April 18, 2008, in Chicago.
Alton Logan hugs his godmother Veryle Mattox as he leaves Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial for Logan, April 18, 2008, in Chicago.   (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
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