Marvin Haynes, 36, is now a free man after being released from a Minnesota prison on Monday, December 11, 2023. He spent 19 years behind bars after being wrongly convicted of murdering Randy Sherer. This is the first time in his adult life he has been free and he is eager to start a new chapter.
Haynes was convicted of murdering Sherer during a 2004 robbery gone wrong. The case against Haynes rested heavily on eyewitness identification. There was no forensic evidence and a weapon was never found, which should have prevented the case from moving forward.
On that fateful night in May 2004, a man robbed the flower shop where Sherer and his sister Cynthia McDermid were working. The man initially pointed the gun at McDermid, but then Sherer came in from the back. The man fired twice at McDermid and escaped. Sherer was killed.
McDermid picked a suspect out of a lineup but it turned out he had an alibi. Another tip pointed toward Haynes. McDermid was shown an old photo in which Haynes had a similar haircut to the actual shooter. McDermid identified Haynes as the murderer. She has since died.
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Mary Moriarty, a Hennepin County attorney, does not believe this case should have ever been pursued because of the lack of physical evidence. “That should have made any prosecutor hesitant to bring charges because eyewitness identifications are often unreliable and one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions,” she explained. “We inflicted harm on Mr. Haynes and his family, and also on Harry Sherer, the victim, his family, and the community. We cannot undo the trauma experienced by those impacted by this prosecution, but today we have taken a step toward righting this wrong,” Moriarty stated, apologizing for the grievous error of justice.
For his part, Haynes is eager to move on with this life. "It took 19 years but I’m here. I just wanna move forward and get my life back. That’s it," he stated.
He made sure to express his gratitude for his sister’s role in getting him exonerated. "My sister lost so much fighting for my innocence. Words cannot describe what she means to me and my family," he praised.
