2004 Minneapolis murder conviction getting new look in court
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man serving a life sentence for a 2004 Minneapolis flower shop murder is fighting to have his conviction tossed out, arguing he is innocent.
Marvin Haynes is now 35 years old.
On Monday, Haynes returned to the Hennepin County courthouse where he was convicted of first-degree murder as a teenager. His attorneys with the Great North Innocence project argue the state and the jury got it wrong almost 20 years ago.
"Your honor, we are here today because Marvin Haynes has spent nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit," said attorney Andrew Markquart. "Based on all this evidence, we are confident that following this evidentiary hearing, the court will have ample basis to conclude that Mr. Haynes conviction is legally and factually defective and should therefore be vacated."
The Hennepin County Attorney’s office is contesting Haynes’ efforts to overturn the conviction.
"The State does want to highlight the fact that petitioner had a several days-long jury trial where a great deal of evidence was admitted, and many witnesses testified," Assistant Hennepin Co. Attorney Anna Light told District Court Judge William Koch at the outset of the multi-day evidentiary hearing. "Much of what petitioner argues now was litigated at trial and was heard by the jury. And then that jury, hearing all the evidence ultimately found petitioner guilty. That determination of guilt cannot be set aside lightly."
The case dates back to May 16, 2004. It was a shocking crime that rocked the community when an armed robbery attempt at Jerry’s Flower Shop in north Minneapolis turned deadly when the perpetrator opened fire.
Randy Sherer, a member of the family that owned the popular neighborhood business, was killed.
His sister, who was an eyewitness that day, had run out of the store before the shots rang out. She has since died.
Haynes and his legal team are zeroing in on the way police conducted their original lineups that led to the arrest of the then 16-year old Haynes.
They argue the suspect identification process was riddled with issues, most notably, that Haynes never matched initial descriptions from the crime scene. Their first witness, a paid expert, was Nancy Steblay, an Augsburg University professor emeritus and expert in police lineup procedures and eyewitness psychology.
"These are very poor lineups," concluded Steblay from the witness stand. "And the elements are such that this suggests high-risk for identification error, extremely high risk."
A second witness for Haynes, a retired Minneapolis police officer, also testified he had concerns with the way the lineups were conducted in this case.
The evidentiary hearing is scheduled to continue on Tuesday with Haynes himself expected to testify.
Ultimately, Judge Koch will have to rule on whether or not to vacate Haynes’ conviction.