Myon Burrell: Minnesota: Superb reporting by ABC News: Reporter Christina Carrega on his efforts to toss his murder conviction while then prosecutor Sen. Amy Klobuchar stood by for 17 years...."A report revealed that the case was littered with inconsistencies."..."A Minneapolis inmate who spent more than half his life so far behind bars says he was wrongfully convicted for murder and blames presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, in part, for standing by what he calls an injustice."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Myon Burrell case: Amazing work exposing this apparent manifest miscarriage of justice. I am trying to put politics aside - it can only get in the way - but, in my outsider Canadian view - bringing this case into the spotlight is one of the best things to come out of the U.S. presidential campaign. Lets hope it leads to Myon Burrell's release and exoneration ASAP. Congrats to reporter Christina Carrega for this excellent story.
BACKGROUND:
"(Myon) Burrell was 16 when he was apprehended in the 2002 death of an
11-year-old African American girl, killed by a stray bullet while doing
her homework. No gun, fingerprints or DNA were ever recovered, and the
case against Burrell relied on the testimony of a teen rival who offered
conflicting stories when identifying the trigger man, who was standing
120 feet away, mostly behind a wall, the AP reported. The AP also
uncovered questionable police tactics in the case, including an
investigator who offered cash for information, and interviewed a prison
inmate who said that he was the triggerman and that Burrell was not on
the scene when Tyesha Edwards was shot and killed."
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Even after my conviction was overturned, she recharged me,” Burrell
says today of Klobuchar. “She recharged me with first degree murder,
never looked into the facts of the case. Never looked into the
misconduct that had taken place. Never even addressed the misconduct
that had taken place and still put the same detective, the same police
on my case to go and get more bogus evidence.”
Asked if he holds Klobuchar responsible for him still being in jail,
Burrell responded, “Yes. I feel like she played a big part. Personally, I
feel like she is the source of everything that happened with her
charging me.”
QUOTE TWO OF THE DAY: "I lost my childhood in this place. I've been here since I was a teen.
All of my 20s, my 30s," Burrell said. But he hopes renewed attention on
his case will lead to it being re-opened.
“When that AP piece came out. And I was able to see it. I cried. Because
all of these years I've been here and I've been screaming, I've been
telling people that I'm innocent, I'm not supposed to be here. But my
voice was never heard. And they gave me a voice and not just from what I
was telling them, but from what they found themselves. And so if you
want to, if you want to know the truth and go and find it yourself -
it's right there,” Burrell says.""
QUOTE THREE OF THE DAY: "Klobuchar has been questioned by many, including ABC News' Sunny Hostin from "The View" and Martha Raddatz of "This Week," about the evidence cited by the AP. "As I’ve said before, this case should be reviewed immediately… as a
prosecutor, our job is to convict the guilty and protect the innocent.
So if any evidence was not put forward or was not appropriately
investigated or if new evidence has emerged that should have been
discovered at the time, it must be reviewed,” Klobuchar told ABC News in
a statement."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In May of 2003, a jury convicted Burrell of first degree murder.
Klobuchar was no longer in the prosecutor’s office when Burrell was
convicted a second time in 2008, but she has boasted her record as a
"tough on crime" prosecutor while running for the U.S. Senate in 2006.
In her current presidential run, she pointed to how she handled
Burrell’s case at the September Democratic debate in Houston to describe
her efforts to bring justice for shooting victims in the African
American community.
“When I came into that office, we worked with the community groups, we
put up billboards, we found the shooter and we put him in jail,” she
said of another case involving an African American victim. “We did the
same for the killer of a little girl named Tyesha Edwards who was doing
her homework at her kitchen table and was shot through the window.”
But in early February, an Associated Press report
claimed there were several flaws with Burrell's case at the time of the
investigation -- flaws that Burrell claims should lead to his
exoneration.
With no weapon found, the case against Burrell largely relied on
testimony from a teen rival who according to the AP changed his story
several times about who he said he saw at the crime scene. He has since
died. The AP investigation also questioned police tactics caught on
camera, such as an investigator offering cash for names of potential
suspects, even for hearsay from someone who said he knew nothing about
the crime. "
STORY: "Minnesota man seeks to toss his murder conviction Sen. Amy Klobuchar stood behind for 17 years," by reporter Christina Carrega, published by ABC News on February 24, 2020.
SUB-HEADING: "A report revealed that the case was littered with inconsistencies."
GIST: "A Minneapolis inmate who spent more than half his life so far behind bars says he was wrongfully convicted for murder and blames presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, in part, for standing by what he calls an injustice.
Myon Burrell, now 33, was convicted for the 2002 first-degree murder of
11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was shot by a stray bullet as she was
doing homework inside her house. Burrell, who was 16 when he was
arrested, as well as Hans Williams and Ike Tyson, two men in their early
20s at the time and not previously known to Burrell, were convicted and
sentenced the following year.At the time, Klobuchar was the chief prosecutor of Hennepin County, where the case took place. “I could put in an appeal and say, hey, listen, give me less time and
let me out right now. But then I would be taking responsibility for a
crime I didn't commit. And I can never do that," Burrell said in a
jailhouse interview with ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis.
In May of 2003, a jury convicted Burrell of first degree murder.
Klobuchar was no longer in the prosecutor’s office when Burrell was
convicted a second time in 2008, but she has boasted her record as a
"tough on crime" prosecutor while running for the U.S. Senate in 2006.
In her current presidential run, she pointed to how she handled
Burrell’s case at the September Democratic debate in Houston to describe
her efforts to bring justice for shooting victims in the African
American community.
“When I came into that office, we worked with the community groups, we
put up billboards, we found the shooter and we put him in jail,” she
said of another case involving an African American victim. “We did the
same for the killer of a little girl named Tyesha Edwards who was doing
her homework at her kitchen table and was shot through the window.”
But in early February, an Associated Press report
claimed there were several flaws with Burrell's case at the time of the
investigation -- flaws that Burrell claims should lead to his
exoneration.
With no weapon found, the case against Burrell largely relied on
testimony from a teen rival who according to the AP changed his story
several times about who he said he saw at the crime scene. He has since
died. The AP investigation also questioned police tactics caught on
camera, such as an investigator offering cash for names of potential
suspects, even for hearsay from someone who said he knew nothing about
the crime.
In a statement to ABC News, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office
maintained, in part, "none of this evidence is new, with the exception
of the two people providing a third alibi 18 years later. All of the
rest of it was introduced in court, evaluated by the fact-finders (a
jury in one, a judge in the other) and the result was a guilty verdict
both times. And the verdicts and evidence were reviewed by the Minnesota
Supreme Court." "Former Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, now a U.S. Senator and a
candidate for president of the United States, has publicly stated that
if new evidence is found, it should be reviewed," they said. "As we have
consistently stated in other cases throughout the years and we restate
it here, we are always willing to look at new evidence. Mr. Burrell has
retained a new lawyer to look into his case. We have been cooperating
with Burrell’s attorneys in their review of the evidence. If Burrell or
his lawyers provide new information, we will carefully review it." Since the release of that report, Klobuchar has been questioned by many, including ABC News' Sunny Hostin from "The View" and Martha Raddatz of "This Week," about the evidence cited by the AP. "As I’ve said before, this case should be reviewed immediately… as a
prosecutor, our job is to convict the guilty and protect the innocent.
So if any evidence was not put forward or was not appropriately
investigated or if new evidence has emerged that should have been
discovered at the time, it must be reviewed,” Klobuchar told ABC News in
a statement.
For his part, Burrell cites what he describes as questionable police
tactics and a rush to judgement by prosecutors in both of his trials
(the then-16-year-old's first conviction was tossed for Miranda
violations, including denying him access to speak to his mother, who
later died in a car crash soon after his arrest). Burrell has maintained his innocence and said he hoped alibi witnesses
and surveillance video from a convenience store where he says he was at
the time of the shooting would have cleared his name, but his defense
attorney presented neither at trial, he said.
"All the way until I went to trial -- I believe that they had those
tapes. And so then when I went to trial and [my lawyer] never presented
them or they never it was just like, you know, I didn't really know how
to take it," Burrell said.
Burrell was convicted after the second trial in 2008 -- when Klobuchar was no longer with the office -- despite Tyson and Williams testifying that Burrell was not involved with the shooting of a rival gang member that ultimately took the life of Edwards.
“Even after my conviction was overturned, she recharged me,” Burrell
says today of Klobuchar. “She recharged me with first degree murder,
never looked into the facts of the case. Never looked into the
misconduct that had taken place. Never even addressed the misconduct
that had taken place and still put the same detective, the same police
on my case to go and get more bogus evidence.”
Asked if he holds Klobuchar responsible for him still being in jail,
Burrell responded, “Yes. I feel like she played a big part. Personally, I
feel like she is the source of everything that happened with her
charging me.” Burrell was initially arrested on a tip by a jailhouse informant, who
was offered "major dollars" by the lead homicide detective to give a
name, "even if it was hearsay," according to the AP's year-long
investigation. The county prosecutor’s office said in a statement
offering cash rewards is “common practice in cases that are not solved
with an immediate arrest for a reward to be offered for any information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.” Jailhouse informants were connected to 181 overturned convictions since
1968, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
"I lost my childhood in this place. I've been here since I was a teen. All of my 20s, my 30s," Burrell said. But he hopes renewed attention on his case will lead to it being re-opened.
“When that AP piece came out. And I was able to see it. I cried. Because
all of these years I've been here and I've been screaming, I've been
telling people that I'm innocent, I'm not supposed to be here. But my
voice was never heard. And they gave me a voice and not just from what I
was telling them, but from what they found themselves. And so if you
want to, if you want to know the truth and go and find it yourself -
it's right there,” Burrell says.'"" The story can be read at:https://abcnews.go.com/US/minnesota-man-seeks-toss-murder-conviction-sen-amy/story?id=69123101&utm_source=CJR+Daily+News&utm_campaign=aa9c38146b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_10_31_05_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9c93f57676-aa9c38146b-174374365&mc_cid=aa9c38146b&mc_eid=ac4188c29b
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.htmlPlease 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."
Two Blogs Now: The Charles Smith Blog; The Selfless Warriors Blog: I created the Charles Smith Blog in 2007 after I retired from The Toronto Star to permit me to keep digging into the story of the flawed pathologist and the harm he had done to so many innocent parents and caregivers, and to Ontario’s criminal justice system. Since then it has taken new directions, including examinations of other flawed pathologists, flawed pathology, and flawed science and technology which has marred the quality of justice in courtrooms around the world. The heart of the Blog is my approach to following cases which raise issues in all of these areas - especially those involving the death penalty. I have dedicated 'The Selfless Warrior Blog’ (soon to appear) to those exceptional individuals who have been ripped out of their ordinary lives by their inability to stand by in the face of a glaring miscarriage of justice. They are my ’Selfless Warriors.’ Enjoy!
