Cutting to the Core of the American Justice System

I find the research involved with this topic [the death penalty] to be very interesting. Articles online about innocents convicted of murder and sentenced to death are all too occurring. What's it going to take to make more people question the fairness of the death penalty? I found one particular story on CBS's 60 Minutes. It's a story that cuts to the core of our justice system, as two lawyers knew of the innocence of a man convicted to life in prison, yet didn't speak up to defend his life.

Alton Logan was convicted of killing a security guard at a McDonald's in Chicago in 1982. Police arrested him after a tip and got three eyewitnesses to identify him. Logan, his mother and brother all testified he was at home asleep when the murder occurred. But a jury found him guilty of first degree murder. Now new evidence reveals that Logan did not commit that murder, something that was not new to those two attorneys, who knew it all along but say they couldn't speak out until now. Alton Logan's story cuts to the core of America's justice system...

The problem was the killer was their client. So, legally, they had to keep his secret even though an innocent man was about to be tried for murder. "I know a lot of people who would say, 'Hey if the guy's innocent you've got to say so. You can't let him rot because of that,'" Simon remarked. "Well, the vast majority of the public apparently believes that, but if you check with attorneys or ethics committees or you know anybody who knows the rules of conduct for attorneys, it’s very, very clear-it's not morally clear-but we're in a position to where we have to maintain client confidentiality, just as a priest would or a doctor would. It's just a requirement of the law. The system wouldn't work without it," Coventry explained. So that was the dilemma. They couldn't speak out, they felt, but how could they remain silent?

To read more from this article, visit http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/06/60minutes/main3914719.shtml

Alton Logan wasn't sentenced to death, but life in prison is essentially the same. I don't want to necessarily even question the morality of the two lawyers who had the evidence of preventing his trial, but I want to criticize the system as a whole. How can someone be found guilty upon unreasonable doubt if s/he is, in fact, completely innocent? Is that the make-up of a "fair" system? The system should be devoted to ending the injustices, not ending more lives! This isn't just about the death penalty...it's about a reform of our country. Aren't laws in place to protect people? Then why wouldn't Alton be protected?

With research comes questions...