September 15: Myon Burrell ; Minneapolis: From our 'Who could imagine?" series: (Part 3): Found guilty of drug and gun charges 4 years after prison sentence commuted, WCCO reports, noting that: "Burrell was accused in the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. Though he always maintained his innocence, his case was used by then-Hennepin County Prosecutor Amy Klobuchar as an example of her tough-on-crime policy, which years later was brought under scrutiny during her unsuccessful run at the presidency in 2020. An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations, particularly involving young Black men."

BACKGROUND:  From a previous post of this Blog: "The Minneapolis man's release came as a result of years of effort to clear his name that had gone nowhere until the Associated Press published an investigation earlier this year. That story raised serious questions about the Minneapolis police investigation and Burrell's prosecution. AP reporter Robin McDowell summed up her findings this way: "With no gun, no DNA, no fingerprints, the case against Burrell revolved around a teen rival who gave conflicting accounts of the shooting. Later, police turned to jailhouse informants, some of whom say they were coached and have since recanted. Alibis were not questioned. Key evidence has gone missing or was never obtained, including a convenience store surveillance tape that Burrell and others say would have cleared him. And the chief homicide detective was caught on camera offering cash for information — even if it was just hearsay."

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/3954627065246479282

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "A Robbinsdale police officer conducted the traffic stop on Aug. 29, 2023, after seeing Burrell speeding and driving over the center line of the road. Charging documents state that when the officer approached his car and Burrell rolled down the window, there was a "very strong odor of burnt marijuana." The officer determined Burrell to be intoxicated during a field sobriety test and told him to sit in the squad car; Burrell then resisted, according to documents, and was eventually placed in handcuffs."

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STORY: "Myon Burrell found guilty of drug and gun charges 4 years after prison sentence commuted," by WCCO staff reporters, published on  September 3, 2025.

MINNEAPOLIS — A 38-year-old man who spent 18 years behind bars for murder before his sentence was commuted in 2020 has been found guilty of drug and firearm charges.

On Tuesday, a court found Myon Burrell guilty of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. This comes a little over a year after officers found a handgun, along with substances that field tested positive for marijuana, methamphetamine and MDMA inside his vehicle during a traffic stop.

A Robbinsdale police officer conducted the traffic stop on Aug. 29, 2023, after seeing Burrell speeding and driving over the center line of the road. Charging documents state that when the officer approached his car and Burrell rolled down the window, there was a "very strong odor of burnt marijuana."

The officer determined Burrell to be intoxicated during a field sobriety test and told him to sit in the squad car; Burrell then resisted, according to documents, and was eventually placed in handcuffs.  

A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled for Burrell yet.

Burrell faces another drug possession charge after, in May, officers discovered a pill that tested positive for methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop. During a subsequent search of Burrell's home, investigators found a suitcase with $60,000 in cash and a business card with Burrell's name on it, charges say.

Burrell was accused in the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. Though he always maintained his innocence, his case was used by then-Hennepin County Prosecutor Amy Klobuchar as an example of her tough-on-crime policy, which years later was brought under scrutiny during her unsuccessful run at the presidency in 2020.

An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations, particularly involving young Black men.

Burrell's sentence was commuted but his request for a pardon was denied, meaning his felony conviction remained on his record.

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/myon-burrell-guilty-drug-gun-charges/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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