The Minnesota Board of Pardons on Tuesday commuted the life sentence of a man convicted of hitting and murdering an 11-year-old girl with a stray bullet in 2002, CBS Minnesota reports. Myon Burrell’s sentence was shortened to 20 years, the rest of which will serve on supervised release.
Tyesha Edwards was killed on November 22, 2002, after a stray bullet broke the wall of her home in Minneapolis. Authorities say the shooting was part of a gang war and that the intended target was outside Edwards’ home when the shooting occurred. Burrell was 16 at the time.
Burrell was first convicted in 2003 of Edwards’ death, and was convicted again in 2008 after the first verdict was overturned, according to CBS Minnesota.
Burrell has denied any involvement in the crime. The case gained national attention earlier this year after an investigation by The Associated Press concluded that there was no physical evidence linking Burrell to the murder and that it caused major flaws in the police investigation.
The decision to commute Burrell’s sentence was made by Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Minnesota Supreme Court Judge Lorie Gildea, who would normally participate in the vote, withdrew due to prior involvement in the case, CBS Minnesota reported.
In support of his decision to switch Burrell’s sentence, Governor Walz cited scientific evidence and Supreme Court rulings that revealed the difference between a teenager’s brain and an adult’s brain.
“We’re not here to relit the crime committed against your family that took your daughter away. I can’t do anything to alleviate the pain and it won’t get better,” Walz told Edwards’ family during the meeting, he said. and The Associated Press. “But we must act today to recognize that the law in this area has changed. Justice is not done by imprisoning a child for the rest of his life for a terrible mistake he made many years ago.”
Ellison expressed a similar opinion on Twitter. “Mr Myon Burrell’s age at the time of his conviction is extremely persuasive to me in terms of switching,” he said. he wrote. “The Supreme Court has said it is unconstitutional to give a juvenile life sentence.”
“Mr Burrell has shown great rehabilitation, positive programming and leadership during his incarceration,” he added. “For these reasons, I voted for his commutation. He just got out of Stillwater Prison today, on supervised release. I wish him and his family the best.”
Burrell, now 34, has spent nearly two decades in prison.
Her case also hit the headlines earlier this year due to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s presidential campaign. Klobuchar, who was Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor the first time Burell was convicted, has long since declared his conviction as evidence that he is tough on crime.
But Klobuchar has been criticized for his role in her case and in March called for an independent investigation.
Klobuchar issued a statement Tuesday calling the switching “the right and fair decision,” according to CBS Minnesota.