Marvin Haynes Cleared Of Murder After Nearly 20 Years

A Minneapolis man who was wrongfully convicted in 2005 is finally free.

Marvin Haynes was just 17 years old when a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for the 2004 killing of Randy Harry Sherer at a flower shop in Minneapolis.

Source: Chanin Nont / Getty

On Monday, Hennepin County Judge William Koch signed an order vacating Haynes’ conviction after it was determined that, as a teenager, the now 36-year-old was failed by the incompetence (and likely the racism) of prosecutors and police officers.

Before we get into how the legal system unjustly stole nearly two decades of an innocent Black man’s life, let’s start with what happened to Sherer, the original victim in this case.

From Fox 9:

It was Sunday in May 2004 at about 11:30 a.m. when Sherer was gunned down inside Jerry’s Flower Shop, his family’s long-time business at 33rd and Lyndale Avenue North.

By all accounts, Sherer was killed protecting his sister during an armed robbery attempt. The young male assailant ordered a bouquet from her, supposedly for his mother’s birthday. That is when he pulled out a silver handgun and demanded money. Sherer stepped out from the back of the store. His sister ran out the door as shots rang out. Sherer was killed. The slaying sent shockwaves through the city.

Fox 9 reports that what happened next is what happens all too often when citizens commit the unforgiving crime of existing while Black. Minneapolis followed up on a tip, which is to say the cops appeared to have zeroed in on the first Black face they saw that reasonably fit the description they had—only not really.

During an extraordinary post-conviction evidentiary hearing granted by Judge Koch, Haynes’ attorneys with the Great North Innocence Project argued that police ignored protocol through faulty line-up techniques, reliance on questionable eyewitness identification, and coerced testimony, adds Fox 9.

Besides the fact that “there was no physical evidence linking Haynes to the crime scene,” as the judge noted in his ruling, the description of the gunman given by the victim’s sister didn’t match that of the defendant. In fact, the attorneys noted that the witness, who has since passed away, gave officers a description of the gunman’s age, hair, size and voice that significantly diverged from Haynes’ voice and appearance at the time.

On top of that, she picked out a separate suspect in an early photo lineup she was shown with “75-80% certainty.”

But investigating officers didn’t stop at egregiously faulty identifications, according to Haynes’ cousin, Isiah Harper, who testified that the Minneapolis Police Department pressured him to claim Haynes had confessed to him that he shot and killed Sherer. Harper has since recanted his testimony.

At around 11 a.m. on Monday morning, Haynes walked out of prison a free man.

“Now you all can recognize that I’m actually innocent,” Haynes said outside of the prison to Fox 9. “I’m happy I can correct my narrative. I’m so happy …. I’m going to go see my mom.”

The Star Tribune reports that under Minnesota law, Haynes is eligible for restitution. He must petition for compensation in Hennepin County District Court.