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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis

Freeman says he's still waiting for new evidence to reconsider Myon Burrell case

Man standing in white shirt, hands clasped in front of tan brick wall.
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 on Oct. 23, 2019, in Stillwater.
John Minchillo | AP Photo file

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Updated: 5:24 p.m. Tuesday

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Monday the man convicted of fatally shooting an 11-year-old girl while aiming at a gang rival in 2002 should remain in prison. But Freeman said he's still open to new evidence.

Questions about whether Myon Burrell was wrongfully convicted of killing Tyesha Edwards have dogged the presidential aspirations of Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was county attorney during Burrell's first trial.

He's serving a life sentence after a judge convicted him at a second trial, which Freeman oversaw.

In a video statement, Freeman said the case against Burrell is strong.

"Mr. Burrell is represented by an attorney, and we've been working with that attorney for a year. If his legal team presents us with new evidence, we will review it. So far, that has not happened," Freeman said.

A day after Freeman’s statement, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar on Tuesday said in a press release that his response to Burrell’s case was “politically motivated.”

“This situation provided both Freeman and Klobuchar the opportunity to do the right thing and join the community,” the group’s spokesperson Sam Martinez said. “The situation is political. It is about the politics of Klobuchar and Freeman doing harm to yet another black man for their own political gain.”

Freeman’s statement was released the day ABC-TV planned to air an interview with Burrell in which he blames Klobuchar for his imprisonment.

At a recent Democratic presidential debate, Klobuchar said Freeman should look at new evidence in the case.