To Tell or Not to Tell?

A non-lawyer friend of mine sent the following article to me and wanted to know my thoughts:

26-Year Secret Kept Innocent Man In Prison | CBSNews

Lawyers Jamie Kunz and Dale Coventry were public defenders when their client, Andrew Wilson, admitted to them he had shot-gunned a security guard to death in a 1982 robbery. When a tip led to Alton Logan’s arrest and he went to trial for the crime, the two lawyers were in a bind. They wanted to help Logan but legally couldn’t.

The lawyers eventually revealed the secret after their client passed away last year.

I think it’s easy to say that one would uphold the canon of attorney-client confidentiality, no matter what the cost. But it’s much harder to watch an innocent man be sentenced to life in prison. And I have no doubt that the decision to maintain their silence weighed heavily on both lawyers over the last 26 years.

I would likely reveal the secret, but would do so only after I left the public defenders office. Being perceived as a “snitch” would make it a lot harder for my clients to trust me and I find that trust to be invaluable.