Minnesota frees man serving a life sentence in child’s 2002 death
MINNEAPOLIS — A Black man who was sentenced to life behind bars as a teenager walked out of a Minnesota prison Tuesday to the sound of ringing bells and cheering supporters, hours after a pardons board commuted his sentence in a high-profile murder case.
Myon Burrell’s case, and his age at the time of the killing, raised questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system that put him away. Earlier this year, The Associated Press and American Public Media uncovered new evidence and serious flaws in the police investigation into the 2002 killing of an 11-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted to commute his sentence to 20 years, with the remaining two years to be served on supervised release. Dozens of supporters braved below-freezing temperatures to greet Burrell as he took his first steps of freedom. They rang cow bells and beat a drum as he walked out, cheering, “Myon’s free!”
Once he arrived home, he was welcomed by his family.
“It’s just a blessing to be home,” he said, while standing outside looking at the sky for the moon and stars, which he said he’s been longing to see.
Burrell, who was 16 at the time of the slaying, appeared at his hearing via videoconference from inside the state’s Stillwater prison. He became emotional as the board voted, and put his hand on his head and said, “Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it.”
His request for a commutation and a pardon, he told the board, was “not in any way, shape or form me trying to minimize the tragedy of the loss of” Tyesha Edwards. “I come before you, a 34-yearold man who spent more than half of his life incarcerated for a crime I didn’t commit.”
Burrell told the board about his time in prison, saying he did not know what was going on when he was sentenced, and that he converted to Islam and became a religious leader while behind bars.
“I tried to make the best of my situation,” he said. “I started going in and extracting medicine out of the poison. The trials and tribulations I was going through, I tried to get something out of it.”
His request was accompanied by testimony from community leaders and letters from young men in prison, who attested to his strong character and moral leadership.
Jimmie Edwards III, Tyesha’s brother, told the AP that he and his family were upset by the decision. He said the justice system failed his family, and media coverage and support for Burrell’s release overshadowed his sister’s death.
“She never got to go to her prom. She never got to go to college. She never got to go to junior high school or high school,” he said. “Her life was taken away at 11. Who’s the victim?”
Gov. Tim Walz, a member of the board, recommended the commuted sentence, saying science has found and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that teenage minds work differently than those of adults, and that a life sentence for a teenager is too extreme.
“While this board is not a fact finder, it does have the power to determine when justice is served through the power of clemency and mercy,” Walz said, adding: “We cannot turn a blind eye to the developments in science and law as we look at this case.”
Last week, an independent panel of national legal experts also recommended Burrell’s immediate release after reviewing the facts and all of the available evidence.
Burrell always maintained his innocence, and another man has confessed to shooting Tyesha, a Black sixth grader who was shot through the heart.
Walz addressed the Edwards family during the hearing, saying: “We’re not here to relitigate the crime committed against your family that took your daughter away. There is nothing I can do to ease your pain, and it will not be made better. But we must act today to recognize the law in this area has changed. Justice is not served by incarcerating a child for his entire lifetime for a horrible mistake committed many years ago.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was the city’s top prosecutor at the time of the killing, has used Burrell’s conviction throughout her political career to tout her record of being tough on crime. She raised it again last year on the stage of a Democratic presidential primary debate.