Man jailed for 26 years declared innocent

A man who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit was officially declared innocent Friday, ending a long wait to clear his name.

Cook County Circuit Judge Paul Biebel Jr. issued a certificate of innocence for Alton Logan, 55, who was convicted in 1983 of fatally shooting a security guard at a McDonald's restaurant.

Logan said he is not angry and thanked the court for the certificate at a news conference at his lawyer's office.

"A lot of people I know would be angry," said Logan, who said he has struggled to find a steady job, but has found joy in reconnecting with his family. "This is not a time for anger; this is a joyous time."

The certificate -- established by Illinois lawmakers because of the backlog of clemency petitions under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- will allow Logan to receive job-training benefits and seek compensation from the state.

Logan likely also will file a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department for wrongful conviction, said attorney Jon Loevy.

Logan was arrested after the January 1982 shooting, and the next year was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on little evidence, attorneys said.

Meanwhile, firearms tests linked a shotgun shell found at the McDonald's to a weapon police found at a beauty parlor where another man, Andrew Wilson, lived. Wilson was being investigated for the shooting of two police officers, whose guns were discovered at the parlor, too.

Yet Chicago police did not reopen Logan's case, said Harold Winston, the public defender who worked to help free Logan.

Last year, two attorneys who had defended Wilson revealed their former client admitted killing the McDonald's security guard. Attorney-client privilege kept them from coming forward until Wilson died in 2007, they said.

The attorneys unsealed an affidavit stating that Logan was not responsible for the fatal shooting.

Logan was freed on bail last April, and his case was dismissed. In September, a judge told Logan the prosecutors would not retry the case.

Loevy said he also will seek to have Logan's record expunged.