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Marvin Haynes' family demands support for wrongfully convicted
Just weeks after the legislative session ended, families and advocates returned to the Capitol on Monday to demand more help for Minnesotans wrongfully imprisoned and their loved ones. FOX 9's Rob Olson has the story.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The 2026 Minnesota legislative session may have already ended, but that didn’t stop Marvina Haynes from gathering friends on the steps of the State Capitol in St. Paul Monday, calling for legislation already for next year.
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'I am Innocent': The Marvin Haynes Story
The true crime documentary details how a 16-year-old boy was convicted of murder after a flower shop robbery in Minneapolis. Marvin Haynes was exonerated nearly twenty years later when eyewitness testimony, and the police investigation itself, started to unravel. A DOC 9 production.
Her brother, Marvin, was exonerated for murder in late 2023 and released from prison after nearly 20 years.
In May, the legislature approved a $4.5 million compensation for his wrongful conviction. But Marvina wants to make sure families of the exonerated get the help they need, too.
"People celebrate the outcome," she said, "but they forget the decades of sacrifice that got us there."
Marvina Haynes Act
What they're saying:
Marvina is pushing for legislation she calls the "Marvina Haynes Act," which she’d hoped would get introduced this year, but ultimately did not.
It would provide supports for families of the exonerated, not necessary in money, but in a host of ways that she says are overlooked after a successful fight to free a loved one wrongfully convicted.
"The Marvina Haynes act is about recognizing that when wrongful convictions happen, the damage extends far beyond one person," she told FOX 9. "Families need trauma support, families need resources, family needs advocates. Families need help carrying that burden so no family feels they have to carry it alone."
Marvin Haynes exhonerated
The backstory:
In December 2023, her brother Marvin was exonerated after nearly 20 years in prison for a murder conviction.
FOX 9 has reported extensively on Haynes’ case that drew attention because there were no fingerprints, no DNA and no video evidence that ever linked Haynes to the crime scene. Police never recovered the murder weapon.
Haynes and his family fought for his freedom for years until a judge threw out the jury’s verdict.
At the end of this year’s legislative session, lawmakers approved compensation for Haynes, and a couple others, for the time spent in prison. The $4.5 million payment for Haynes is believed to be the largest claim of its kind in Minnesota history.
MN Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform
What's next:
Marvina Haynes started her foundation, called MN Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform, during her fight for her brother’s freedom.
It helps others waging the same battle for their own loved ones. Several spoke alongside Marvina outside the capitol, raising awareness of the struggles. But the point of Marvina’s hoped-for legislation would be to help those families after they win.
She’s spending the time between sessions to build support to pass this legislation in 2027.
"I want to see trauma support, mental health support and then smaller components. It just depends on what the family is going through, because each case is different," she said.