"I could have been killed in that environment, but I had faith": Marvin Haynes discusses newfound freedom

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota man is adjusting to a world he hasn't seen for 20 years.

Marvin Haynes has been free for 24 hours, after a long fight to prove his innocence.

Haynes' was sentenced to life in prison for the 2004 murder of Randy Sherer who was working at his family's flower shop in north Minneapolis.

Tuesday afternoon, WCCO's Ubah Ali sat down with Haynes inside the Great North Innocence Project's office. Haynes wearing a brown hat, beige sweater and white pants was sitting, enjoying Chipotle for the very first time.

WCCO asked Haynes what being free means to him. He says it means everything and that he was never supposed to go through this situation.

A situation that halted Haynes' teenager years and led him to serving a life sentence for the murder of Randy Sherer.

"I could have been killed in that environment, but I had faith," Haynes said.

Faith that he would be free one day.

"When I got convicted, I just asked god, I said look just make sure my mom see me get justice that's all I ever wanted," Haynes recalled.

That day became a reality on Monday when he walked out of prison after nearly two decades.

That fight for his life began after reading an article in prison about the Innocence Project, an organization working to exonerate those wrongfully convicted.

"I'm like this is the opportunity I've been waiting for," Haynes said. "I sat down and wrote them a letter."

In 2021, the Innocence Project took on his case. Staff attorney Andrew Markquart says prosecutors relied on faulty eyewitness testimony, and the court agreed.

"Go read my trial transcript and you tell me if I'm innocent or guilty," Haynes said.

Even though Haynes had his life stripped away as a teenager, he wants the Sherer family to know he's not resentful.

"I can never be mad at them," Haynes said. "The police manipulated them to believe it was me and it wasn't."

Haynes is now navigating the new world of technology and everything being on an iPhone, enjoying time with his family and most importantly fighting for others wrongfully behind bars.

"I would love to tell my story (through a book) so people can really see and get hope and inspiration," he said. "I know what it did for me.

Minneapolis police say they're reviewing the 2004 killing that landed him the life sentence.

Haynes' attorney will be seeking reparations for him under Minnesota's wrongly convicted law.