Marvin Haynes could get upwards of $1 million from state after being freed
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Nothing can make up for the time someone spent behind bars wrongfully, but for almost a decade, a Minnesota law has created a compensation process for cases where someone was wrongfully incarcerated.
The attorneys for Marvin Haynes, who was exonerated Monday after spending nearly 20 years in prison for a 2004 murder at a Minneapolis flower shop, said they will look into compensation during a news conference Monday afternoon.
"We fully anticipate that Marvin will qualify for that, but we're taking one step at a time here. That will be something we will be looking at for sure," said Andrew Markquart, an attorney with the Great North Innocence Project.
FOX 9 wanted to dig deeper into the state’s compensation law. The Innocence Project led the push for the Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act about a decade ago. The language was a compromise between the Innocence Project, prosecutors and lawmakers.
"What do you say to someone who spent a decade or two in prison when they never should have been there?" John Lesch grappled with that question nine years ago when he sponsored legislation in the Minnesota House that would provide compensation from the state after wrongful convictions.
Lesch, a former state representative, is now a criminal defense attorney and also worked as a prosecutor for 15 years.
"I remember bringing some cases as a prosecutor and starting out and being sure of the conviction that the person was guilty and getting to trial and hearing some facts that I hadn't seen, and realizing maybe I was wrong," Lesch told FOX 9.
His legislation led to the state enacting the 2014 law that provides for between $50,000 and $100,000 per year of wrongful conviction, plus other costs like attorney’s fees. That's after someone is exonerated for a felony, like Haynes now has been after he was released from Stillwater prison on Monday.
Lesch, who's not involved with the case, said there's a lengthy process involved, especially if the compensation panel decides Haynes deserves more than $50,000 a year.
"This guy could get upwards of a million bucks. But who knows how many years it's going to be before he sees that," Lesch said.
A few examples are in 2016, payments of $916,828, $475,000, and $395,148 were approved to three people who each served time for crimes they didn't commit, totaling almost $1.8 million.
"I think at a certain point, prosecutors are required to think about, ‘What's this going to cost me? What's this going to cost the government if I go full speed ahead on a conviction and don't ask any questions about whether or not I should be bringing these charges?’" Lesch said.
In 2019, language was added to the law saying there also needs to be evidence suggesting innocence. Lesch says in Haynes' case, several people recanted their original statements and he believes that would qualify under the law.