Myon Burrell spoke out from behind bars this week during an ABC News interview. Burrell was found guilty for the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards, who was shot in her home while doing homework in 2002. Burrell was charged with the crime when he was 16. So far, he's served 17 years of his life sentence, but he maintains his innocence.
"It hurts to know that you could be out right now, that I could put an appeal and say listen give me less time and let me out right now," Burrell told ABC. "But then I would be taking responsibility for a crime that I didn't commit. And I could never do that."
His story is now in the national spotlight because one of the head prosecutors on his case, Amy Klobuchar, is running for president. As Hennepin County attorney, she was the one who charged Burrell with the crime.
Burrell said that she "never looked into the facts of the case." She "never even addressed the misconduct that had taken place" and she placed the same authorities on the case to get more "bogus evidence."
"Personally I feel like she is the source of everything that happened," Burrell said.
ABC News reports: critics condemn Amy Klobuchar’s "nightmare" handling of case as prosecutor pic.twitter.com/EyeHfFUTky
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 25, 2020
As analysts have delved into the case, they discovered that both the evidence and the witness testimony against Burrell were flimsy and inconsistent.
As the ABC report notes, the case against Burrell is one that Klobuchar has touted as a success on the campaign trail.
"This is a bad example" to use if Klobuchar is trying to paint herself as a beacon of justice, said one of the experts interviewed by ABC. "This is a nightmare example."
The Minneapolis NAACP demanded that Klobuchar suspend her campaign and reopen the case. President Leslie Redmond accused Klobuchar of using the case "to advance her political career."
We expect to hear Burrell's name during Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Charleston, SC.