BACKGROUND: "A little girl was killed by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table in 2002. And it was Klobuchar’s office that put Tyesha Edwards’ killer — a black teen — behind bars for life. But what if Myon Burrell is innocent? An Associated Press investigation into the 17-year-old case uncovered new evidence and myriad inconsistencies, raising questions about whether the teen was wrongfully convicted. The AP reviewed more than a thousand pages of police records, court transcripts and interrogation tapes, and interviewed dozens of inmates, witnesses, family members, former gang leaders, lawyers and criminal justice experts. The case relied heavily on a teen rival of Burrell’s who gave conflicting accounts when identifying the shooter, who was largely obscured behind a wall 120 feet away. With no other eyewitnesses, police turned to multiple jailhouse informants. Some have since recanted, saying they were coached or coerced. Others were given reduced time, raising questions about their credibility. And the lead homicide detective offered “major dollars” for names, even if it was hearsay. There was no gun, fingerprints or DNA. Alibis were never seriously pursued. Key evidence has gone missing or was never obtained, including a convenience store surveillance tape that Burrell and others say would have cleared him. Burrell, now 33, has maintained his innocence, rejecting all plea deals."
Reporter Robin McDowell.
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PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who led the Hennepin County Attorney’s office at the time Tyesha Edward was felled by a stray bullet, was asked about the case while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in New Hampshire. She has cited the case repeatedly during her political career, including during her 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate, and more recently in a Democratic candidates’ debate. “If there is new evidence,” Klobuchar told New Hampshire Public Radio, “this should be reviewed immediately because the job of the prosecutor is to convict the guilty and protect the innocent.”
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "In his interview with the AP, McLean recalled the trial and said Burrell’s defense attorney seemed inexperienced and unable to mount an aggressive defense. “He was in the deep end and the judge was throwing him bricks,” McLean said. “I thought that from the get-go this kid’s not got a decent attorney.” Paul Fedor, a juror who held out against a guilty verdict longer than any of the others, told AP there were many aspects of the trial that troubled him. Although jurors never visited the scene of the shooting, he said, he found it difficult to believe that Burrell, who is 5-foot-3, could have fired a handgun over a 5-foot wall, as prosecutors claimed.
But Fedor said he finally “collapsed.” “I held as long as I could,” he said. “It’s weird. You think you can do it, you can hold on, but you’ve never been in that situation.” After the verdict was read, Fedor addressed reporters and said he felt pressured to convict. McLean said that after jurors agreed on a verdict, he went into a jury restroom and vomited. “He was a 16-year-old boy and I was a pretty newly minted dad at that time,” he said. “Based on our conviction, there was a real possibility that he was going to go to jail for the rest of his life. I was struck by the gravity of that.”
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STORY: Myon Burrell: Minnesota; Major (Welcome Development): "Jury foreman regrets convicting teen in girl’s 2002 death," by reporters Michael Rezendes and Robin McDowell, published by The Associated Press on January 31, 2020.
GIST: "Citing a recent Associated Press investigation,
the foreman of the jury that sent a Minnesota teen away for life in the
2002 death of an 11-year-old girl said Friday he regrets voting to
convict. “I do feel badly,” jury foreman Joe McLean told the AP. “I feel, for lack of a better word, that we were misled.” “Maybe we should have taken more time,” he added. “Maybe we should have said we couldn’t decide.” No
gun, fingerprints or DNA were ever recovered, and the 2003 trial of
Myon Burrell centered on the testimony of one teen rival who offered
conflicting stories when identifying the triggerman, who was standing
120 feet away, mostly behind a wall. McLean
said he and other jurors did the best they could with the evidence
presented and were unaware of information turned up in the AP review of
the case -- in part because his co-defendants were not allowed to take
the stand. Both have since said Burrell was not even on the scene. One
of them, Ike Tyson, admits to being the shooter. “Now there are statements from Ike Tyson saying he did the shooting. We didn’t have that then,” McLean said. Meanwhile,
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who led the Hennepin County Attorney’s office at
the time Tyesha Edward was felled by a stray bullet, was asked about the
case while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in
New Hampshire. She has cited the case repeatedly during her political
career, including during her 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate, and more
recently in a Democratic candidates’ debate. “If
there is new evidence,” Klobuchar told New Hampshire Public Radio,
“this should be reviewed immediately because the job of the prosecutor
is to convict the guilty and protect the innocent.” Burrell
was tried and convicted of Tyesha’s murder twice, and the second trial
occurred when Klobuchar was no longer the Hennepin County attorney.
McLean was the foreman in the first trial. In
his interview with the AP, McLean recalled the trial and said Burrell’s
defense attorney seemed inexperienced and unable to mount an aggressive
defense. “He was
in the deep end and the judge was throwing him bricks,” McLean said. “I
thought that from the get-go this kid’s not got a decent attorney.” Paul
Fedor, a juror who held out against a guilty verdict longer than any of
the others, told AP there were many aspects of the trial that troubled
him. Although
jurors never visited the scene of the shooting, he said, he found it
difficult to believe that Burrell, who is 5-foot-3, could have fired a
handgun over a 5-foot wall, as prosecutors claimed. But Fedor said he finally “collapsed.” “I
held as long as I could,” he said. “It’s weird. You think you can do
it, you can hold on, but you’ve never been in that situation.” After the verdict was read, Fedor addressed reporters and said he felt pressured to convict. McLean said that after jurors agreed on a verdict, he went into a jury restroom and vomited. “He
was a 16-year-old boy and I was a pretty newly minted dad at that
time,” he said. “Based on our conviction, there was a real possibility
that he was going to go to jail for the rest of his life. I was struck
by the gravity of that.” McLean’s
comments followed a Wednesday rally of community activists at the
Government Center in downtown Minneapolis where they demanded Klobuchar
join with police and prosecutors to re-examine the case, in light of the
AP’s findings." Citing
a recent Associated Press investigation, the foreman of the jury that
sent a black teenager away for life in the 2002 death of an 11-year-old
girl, now says he regrets voting to convict. AP correspondent Julie
Walker reports. The
AP examined thousands of pages of court documents and archival video
that showed police investigators offered cash to potential witnesses in
exchange for information. In addition, they relied on the testimony of
jail house snitches who received reduced sentences in exchange, and
later recanted their testimony. At
the end of the interview, McLean asked an AP reporter to deliver a
message to Burrell: “Tell him that I’m sorry,” he said. “I tried to do
my best. I kind of think in retrospect I failed.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://apnews.com/fb9ea66561f533d6ada550904ac56885
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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