Hennepin County Attorney’s Office offering to reduce Burrell sentence

KSTP

Myon Burrell, convicted in the murder of Tyesha Edwards, an 11-year-old girl pierced in the heart by a stray bullet in 2002 while doing homework at her family's dining room table, stands for a photograph at the Stillwater Correctional Facility, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, in Stillwater, Minn. A growing number of legal experts, community leaders and civil rights activists are concerned that Burrell may have been wrongly convicted, as there was no gun, fingerprints or hard evidence to implicate him.[(AP Photo/John Minchillo)]

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says it is offering to reduce the sentence of a man convicted in the shooting death of an 11-year-old girl.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says his office sent a letter to Myon Burrell, offering to take 15 years off his 45-year sentence.

Burrell was convicted of murder in the 2002 shooting death of Tyesha Edwards in Minneapolis

Imprisoned for life as a teen, Myon Burrell finds his voice

Hennepin County attorney defends Myon Burrell conviction

Prosecutors said Burrell, who was 16 at the time, shot Edwards while intending to hit a rival gang member.

Freeman said he concluded the 45-year sentence was too long because Burrell was a minor at the time of the shooting.

Burrell’s case resurfaced in January when an Associated Press investigation found flaws in the police investigation. Co-defendants in the case also gave reports Burrell wasn’t even present when the shooting happened.

In March, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who initially prosecuted the case, called on Freeman to initiate an independent review.

Burrell’s attorney, Daniel Guerrero, issued the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Wednesday:

"While we appreciate Mr. Freeman’s offer or more appropriately, decision to reduce Myon’s sentence to 30 years, it is insufficient. We hope Mr. Freeman’s office follows through in district court to ask for a reduction. They do not need our support or agreement for this but bottom line, Myon has already spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Another 12 years only perpetuates that tragedy. In the end, we believe Myon is innocent of Tyesha Edward’s murder and that the facts support his innocence. We’ve supplied new evidence to the County Attorney’s Office. Nothing short of vacating Myon’s convictions and his immediate release from prison is sufficient to effectuate true justice."