Marvin Haynes Released from Prison After Judge Overturns 2004 Murder Conviction

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty calls the prosecution a 'terrible injustice', as the conviction relied almost entirely on unreliable eyewitness identification.

Marvin Haynes, who was convicted for a 2004 murder in a Minneapolis flower shop, has been released from prison after a judge ruled the eyewitness evidence on which his conviction rested was unreliable.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty called Haynes' prosecution a 'terrible injustice', noting that his conviction relied almost entirely on eyewitness identification and lacked any forensic evidence.
Judge William Koch dismissed all charges with prejudice after ruling that the eyewitness evidence was unconstitutionally admitted, noting there was no physical evidence linking Haynes to the crime.
Haynes' attorneys from the Innocence Project demonstrated that he did not match the physical description provided by the primary eyewitness, and highlighted issues with how investigators conducted a photo lineup that did not include Haynes.
At the time of Haynes' conviction, the county attorney was Amy Klobuchar, who is now Minnesota’s senior U.S. senator. Moriarty, who was formerly the county’s chief public defender, expressed deep regret for the opportunities Haynes missed while he spent more than half his life in prison.