Minnesota man wrongfully convicted of murder freed from life sentence

Marvin Haynes receives apology from DA who said prosecutors had no forensic evidence linking him to 2004 murder

A man convicted of murdering a Minnesota flower shop clerk largely based on a single eyewitness identification has been freed from a sentence of life imprisonment, elating his supporters and him but outraging the slain victim’s family.

Marvin Haynes was 16 when the killing which sent him to prison for nearly two decades unfolded in 2004 in Minneapolis. His release comes amid the implementation of court-mandated reforms to the local police department, prompted in part by a former officer’s murder of George Floyd in 2020.