Marvin Haynes was only 16 years old when his entire world flipped upside down. Haynes, 35, was sent to prison in 2004 for the murder of Randy Sherer, who was shot and killed during a robbery at a Minneapolis flower shop. The conviction rested on eyewitness testimony from the theft.
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Now, a judge is setting Haynes free. After spending half of his life in prison, Judge William Koch threw out Haynes’ conviction, noting that relying solely on eyewitness testimony was unconstitutional. Today, Haynes walked out of prison a free man.
“I just want to thank everybody that supported me through this whole journey,” Haynes told reporters outside the prison, according to Associated Press “And now y’all can recognize that I’m actually innocent.”
In addition to other flaws with his original case, the judge noted that there was no physical evidence connecting Haynes to Sherer’s killing. And that wasn’t the only problem. According to the Associated Press, attorneys representing Haynes pointed out that he was “significantly” younger than the eyewitness account of the killer and about 50 pounds lighter and shorter. He also had longer hair, and his “manner of speech was not similar.”
Prosecutors also agreed that the evidence had been insufficient. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office agreed that using the eyewitness evidence alone to convict Haynes was unconstitutional.
“We inflicted harm on Mr. Haynes and his family, and also on Harry Sherer, the victim, his family, and the community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement to the Associated Press. “We cannot undo the trauma experienced by those impacted by this prosecution, but today, we have taken a step toward righting this wrong.”
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