Marvin Haynes, serving life sentence for Randy Sherer's murder, fights for information to prove his innocence
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minnesota man serving a life sentence is fighting for information he hopes will help prove his innocence.
Marvin Haynes, 35, was sentenced to life in prison when he was 17 for the 2004 murder of Randy Sherer, who was shot while working in his family's north Minneapolis flower shop.
Haynes has always insisted he was innocent.
"You got to understand, I'm in a place with real murderers, real killers, real rapists," Haynes said Tuesday over the phone. "So I had to maneuver and find a way to get through this stuff every day knowing that I'm an innocent man."
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Haynes says no physical evidence tied him to the crime.
"There's tons of problems that happened with Marvin's case," said Marvina Haynes, Marvin's sister. "When people are wrongfully incarcerated, it affects their family, the community and everybody else around them."
Haynes and his new lawyer filed a lawsuit last week against Hennepin County and the city of Minneapolis, accusing them of withholding information about the case.
"Reports that were made, search warrants, things of that nature," said Nico Ratkowski, Haynes' attorney. "What we're trying to do is get evidence that would help prove his innocence."
Ratkowski says eyewitnesses were either pressured or have since recanted testimony.
The prosecutor who put Haynes away has maintained his certainty that the conviction was correct.
"It has not been easy," Haynes said. "It's been devastating, but I hold on faith. I got faith, a lot of faith, so yeah, that's what keeps me going."
In response to Haynes's recent lawsuit, Minneapolis said it hasn't been served yet. Hennepin County said it can't comment on pending litigation.
Haynes has also filed an application for Minnesota's Conviction Review Unit to look at his case.
