Marvin Haynes files nearly $2 million claim for wrongful murder conviction

Marvin Haynes has filed a compensation claim demanding $100,000 for each of the 19-plus years he spent wrongfully incarcerated for a murder he was convicted of as a Minneapolis teenager.

The nearly $2 million claim, filed Thursday with the Minnesota Supreme Court, recounts the vast losses and damages suffered by Haynes, who was first arrested in May 2004 at the age of 16 and was not exonerated until December 2023 at age 36.

In Minnesota, those who have had criminal cases exonerated with no outstanding felony charges are entitled to no less than $50,000 for each year of incarceration as compensation.

Soon after his release from the Stillwater prison 11 months ago, Haynes found an apartment and full-time employment, according to the claim. He has dreams of pursuing a college career in business and taking classes in public speaking, his attorneys Oliver Nelson III and Amelia Green wrote, but his time is consumed by obtaining basic financial security and other necessities.

Apart from missing out on many milestones and opportunities, Haynes’ imprisonment fractured his relationship with his immediate family and friends, the attorneys wrote. Both his maternal grandparents passed away during this incarceration. And his mother lost the ability to speak and care for herself following a stroke.

The prison environment was also harmful to Haynes, they wrote. He suffered psychological damage from “the pervasive violence he would witness and have to guard against,” and there was a lack of access to mental health treatment.

That extended to basic medical care as well, specifically dental care. Haynes now must treat health issues that were exacerbated by the prison environment, according to the claim. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, he contracted the virus twice, once before he was vaccinated.

The state has a right to dispute the claim and a final determination will be made by a panel of judges and attorneys, who will forward the amount of damages to state lawmakers for approval.

In 2004, a robber shot and killed Randy Sherer, 55, in his family’s flower shop in north Minneapolis. Police found no physical evidence of the killer, but a witness, Sherer’s sister, Cynthia McDermid, identified Haynes only after being shown a two-year-old photo of him with close-cropped hair.

McDermid had previously described the killer as a thin Black male, nearly 6 feet tall and 180 pounds with close-cropped hair. At the time, Haynes was 5-foot-7, weighed 130 pounds and had a long afro.

Last December, Haynes signed an agreement with Hennepin County Judge William Koch and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office saying he was convicted based on a flawed investigation, vacating the conviction.