It’s the little things we take for granted.
It’s taking a walk, looking at the trees … letting the warmth of the sun beam down on our face. It’s those little things that Marvin Haynes said he looks forward to most. After, of course, seeing his mother for the first time in several years. He had not seen freedom for the past 19 years.
Haynes, 36, was released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater on Monday after Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty agreed to vacate the 2005 murder conviction of Haynes, who was 16 when he was accused in the 2004 killing of 55-year-old Minneapolis flower shop owner Harry “Randy” Sherer. Moriarty called the prosecution of Haynes a “terrible injustice.”
“It was egregious,” Moriarty said Monday in an interview with MinnPost, hours after standing alongside Haynes and his attorneys at a news conference celebrating his release. That moment followed a process that involved Moriarty and attorneys for the Great North Innocence Project presenting flaws in the case, after which Hennepin County District Court Judge William Koch agreed to vacate Haynes’ life sentence.
In a review of the case files in Haynes’ conviction, Moriarty said there was no reason the Hennepin County Attorney at the time – now Sen. Amy Klobuchar – should have allowed prosecution of the then 16-year-old.
“I spent quite a bit of time reading the case files and it was quite chilling reading the police reports,” Moriarty said in the interview.
Moriarty called out multiple flaws in the case, including the eyewitness description of the suspect who did not resemble Haynes and the witness initially identifying another person in a photo lineup as the killer.
“The first thing that stood out was the victim’s sister gave a detailed description (of the suspect who interacted with her brother) and she described him as having a close crop haircut. If you look at the police interrogation video of Marvin Haynes you’ll see he has an Afro,” said Moriarty. “The photo they presented (the victim’s sister) with (of Haynes) was from two years before when he had a close cropped haircut.”
The suspect described by the victim’s sister was also about 50 pounds heavier than Haynes.
That photo lineup where the witness picked out Haynes was the second she had seen. In an initial photo lineup, the witness picked out a different man who she said she was “75-80% sure” was the suspect. The problem with that identification was the initial person identified as the possible killer had a corroborated alibi.
So how did Haynes end up in this 19-plus-year nightmare?
[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Harry Colbert, Jr.[/image_credit][image_caption]Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty called the prosecution of Haynes a “terrible injustice.”[/image_caption]
Other troubled prosecutions
Haynes’ case is not the first involving the prosecution of a teen during Klobuchar’s time as Hennepin County Attorney that was later questioned. In 2020, as Klobuchar was in the midst of campaigning to become the Democratic nominee for president, protesters showed up at the site of a scheduled rally in St. Louis Park demanding justice for Myon Burrell, who was convicted in the 2002 killing of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards.
Burrell, like Haynes, was a Black teen living in Minneapolis, and the lack of physical evidence in the case was also similar to Haynes’ case. Retired assistant prosecutor Mike Furnstahl handled both Burrell and Haynes’ cases. He told the Star Tribune in March that he stands by Haynes’ conviction, and he has also defended Burrell’s conviction. The Minnesota Board of Pardons commuted Burrell’s life sentence in December 2020.
MinnPost reached out to Klobuchar, and the senator responded through a spokesperson that she “respects the judicial process. She has worked closely with the Innocence Project on reforms and has long supported their work, and will continue to do so.”
Haynes credited the Great North Innocence Project and his sister, Marvina Haynes, for helping to secure his release.
A review of other convictions
Moriarty said her office is in the process of setting up a conviction review unit to allow those who believe they were wrongly convicted to apply for case assessment. She said that unit will come later in 2024. A sentencing review unit in Hennepin County should be up and running by January, she said. There, the focus will not be on innocence or guilt, but rather if the length of time given to those convicted was excessive.
Also, the prosecutor is calling on the Minnesota Legislature to pass legislation that does away with the statute of limitations for those convicted to pursue a review of their cases.
Asked about the investigating officers in the Haynes case, Moriarty said one, retired Minneapolis Police Lt. Michael Keefe, worked on behalf of Haynes in securing his freedom. Moriarty said during the initial investigation, Keefe called the photo lineup in the Haynes case “a joke” but was overruled by his superiors.
Seeing the sun
“It took 19 years but I’m here,” said Marvin Haynes in a press conference alongside Moriarty, members of her staff, his sister and Attorney Andrew Markquart of the Great North Innocence Project.
“Far too many birthdays have been taken away; far too many Christmases taken away from his family,” said Markquart. “This year you get to spend Christmas with your family.”
Asked what he looks forward to, Marvin Haynes smiled and shook his head almost in awe.
“Walking, seeing trees … seeing the sun. Just the simple things,” said the now-free Haynes.
Marvina Haynes said the justice for her brother was 19 years overdue.
“MPD (Minneapolis Police Department) took Marvin away from our family. Nineteen years. Why so much time for an innocent man?” said Marvina Hayes.
MinnPost reporter Ana Radelat contributed to this story.
