Foreman of jury reflects on case after Burrell’s sentence commuted
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Myon Burrell’s case made headlines this year as new evidence showed serious flaws in the death investigation of an 11-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet back in 2002.
Tuesday was a historic day for the man who had been convicted of shooting a little girl. Burrell had his sentence commuted and was released immediately from prison as you saw live on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Tuesday.
He was first found guilty in 2003 and then again in 2008.
KSTP’s Brandi Powell sat down with the foreman of the jury, Joe McLean.
"I had to get up and throw up, when I signed the jury documents, there were no blue birds in that courtroom," McLean said.
Myon Burrell is released from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, in Bayport, Minn. Minnesota's pardon board on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, commuted the sentence of Burrell, a Black man who was sent to prison for life as a teen in a high-profile murder case that raised questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system that put him away.[AP Photo/John Minchillo]
The jury convicted the teenager of murder in the 2002 shooting death of Tyesha Edwards in south Minneapolis.
"I mean, I still wrestled with the thought of sending a 16-year-old away for life," McLean said.
"I never had this sense like we could ever be 100% certain," he explained.
He added, "Our justice system isn’t perfect, you know, I’m not perfect, I’ve come full circle…Sometimes justice is slow."
Myon Burrell sentence commuted to 20 years, to serve rest of sentence under supervised release
On Tuesday, 18 years later, the Minnesota Board of Prisons released Burrell from prison. His sentence was commuted to 20 years with the remaining two to be served under supervised release. The request for a pardon was denied.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS showed the moments when Burrell was released and met by loved ones. McLean said it was emotional for him, too.
"I was excited, I mean I had been counting the days leading up to it … I had a dental appointment, at 4 o’clock, right as Myon’s case was being heard, and I got out and turned on the radio in my car, and I heard part of the end of the story," McLean said. "Then I got a text, my wife called, and I just I couldn’t believe it, I was stunned … just overall a sense of relief, happiness, for Myon and his family. And I don’t want to overlook that Tyesha Edwards’ family, this doesn’t, this doesn’t take away the sadness they still feel … I mean, it was an innocent child, parents lost an innocent child, violently."
McLean now believes Burrell is innocent and thinks someone else is responsible. He said he’d like to talk with Burrell someday.
When asked what he would like to say to him directly if he could, McLean said, "I would tell him that I’m sorry for what happened to him, and I’m sorry for the role that I played in that."
Burrell has always maintained his innocence. In his pardon request, Burrell said he was not trying to minimize what happened to Tyesha Edwards but spent more than half his life incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit.