House backs $4.5M payout to exonerated Minneapolis man
The Minnesota House voted unanimously Wednesday to approve $4.5 million in compensation for Marvin Haynes, moving the payment one step closer to final approval.[1]
The award is calculated at $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment and would be the largest exoneration payment in Minnesota history.[1] The House vote now goes to the Minnesota Senate for approval before any funds can be released.[1] Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty publicly apologized and blamed poor police work and faulty eyewitness identification in the case.[1]
Haynes was convicted in 2004 in the killing of a worker at a Minneapolis flower shop; his conviction was vacated in December 2023.[1] He spent almost 20 years in prison before the ruling and has filed a separate federal lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis and the original investigators.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- Minnesota House voted unanimously to approve $4.5 million in compensation for Marvin Haynes on Wednesday.
- Haynes was wrongfully convicted in a 2004 Minneapolis flower shop murder and spent almost 20 years in prison before his conviction was vacated in December 2023.
- The payment, based on $50,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment, would be the largest exoneration award in state history and still needs Minnesota Senate approval.
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty publicly apologized and blamed poor police work and faulty eyewitness ID; Haynes has a separate federal lawsuit against Minneapolis and the original investigators.
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