In a move that stunned many, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sent a letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman requesting a review of the murder case of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards that has Myon Burrell serving a life sentence.
Burrell and supporters, including the national and local NAACP, say Burrell is innocent. Klobuchar’s letter is significant because it was she who first prosecuted Burrell for the 2002 killing of Edwards, who was struck by a stray bullet while she was inside her home sitting at a table doing homework. In fact, Klobuchar touted the prosecution of Burrell during her run for president. The Minnesota senator ended her bid for the White House a day after Burrell supporters led her to cancel a campaign appearance on March 1 in St. Louis Park.
In her March 5 letter, Klobuchar said, “The gross miscarriage of justice that Myon Burrell experienced, beginning when he was just a teenager, represents the worst of what can happen when those with power, influence, and legal authority fail to see the humanity of a criminal defendant because of the color of his skin, racial stereotyping, and his lack of wealth and political capital.”
This is a stunning statement coming from the former prosecutor. Often, prosecutors are highly reluctant to admit there is a chance of innocence of a defendant he or she prosecuted. Add to the matter the fact Klobuchar was highlighting the prosecution just months ago and it makes her statement that much more powerful.
In a statement release after receipt of the letter, Freeman said the office will review the case.
“Over the last several months, this office has conducted a significant review of all the evidence of the Myon Burrell case. In addition, we have publicly requested any new information concerning this case, and have reviewed the issues raised. We have previously offered to review any new and additional evidence,” said Freeman in the statement. “At the request of Myon Burrell, our office met with Burrell’s lawyer on Feb. 24 and committed to reviewing the case file and the new information his attorney provided. That review is on-going.”
But in a release posted on the Hennepin County Attorney website posted on Feb. 24 – the date Freeman mentioned in his most recent statement – Freeman seemed to dismiss the claims of innocence.
“Myon Burrell has said a lot of things. He initially told police he was in Bemidji with his mother at the time of the shooting. Then, during his trial, the second alibi was, he was at a friend’s house playing video games. Now, a news report claims Mr. Burrell has a third alibi, that two people are claiming they were with him at a nearby grocery store at the time of the shooting. These two people never came forward and no plausible explanation has been offered why these two people waited 18 years to say anything. Mr. Burrell remains in prison because a jury, then a judge, found him guilty of murdering Tyesha Edwards and the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed,” said Freeman in the Feb. 24 statement. “The evidence is quite strong which is why he was convicted twice.”
According to Freeman, whose office ultimately prosecuted Burrell, in the first trial, Burrell, 16 at the time of the shooting, was convicted of killing Edwards and Burrell appealed in 2005 and the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered a new trial based on a Miranda warning error. In the second trial in 2007, Burrell asked for a trial by a judge and was again found guilty.
“The evidence is quite strong which is why he was convicted twice,” said Freeman in the Feb. 24 statement.
“This is a major step in the right direction (asking to reopen the case), which took a great deal of public and private pressure to get to this point, but it represents progress,” said Nekima Levy-Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and former Minneapolis NAACP president. “Amy’s words signal an acknowledgment that the injustices present in Myon’s case need to be addressed and taken seriously by the Hennepin County Attorney’s office, the criminal justice system, and the broader public.”
“The reality is they (prosecutors) should be looking at old and new evidence,” said Leslie Redmond in a recent Facebook post. “They never had any evidence to convict him in the first place. Myon is not the only case where young Black men and women have been railroaded.”
No gun, fingerprints or DNA were ever attributed to Burrell in either of his trials.
