When Minneapolis resident Marvina Haynes’ brother Marvin was set free from prison after serving 19 years for a murder he did not commit, she didn’t have much time to celebrate. There was work to do.
“I’m very big on faith,” Marvina Haynes said. “I never thought I’d have to do this work because I thought if I told the truth the right thing would happen. After a while, it breaks you down.”
Marvina Haynes and other families of loved ones wrongfully incarcerated, gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul on Jan. 24 to tell their stories. Marvina Haynes’ brother Marvin Haynes was one of the speakers. He was accused of a murder in 2004 when a man attempted to rob a family-run flower shop in north Minneapolis and shot and killed one of the family members who walked in on the scene.
Despite Marvin Haynes's insistence that he was innocent and no physical evidence linking him to the murder, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2005. He was only 16 years old. The resulting financial burden, stress and trauma on him and his family was unimaginable.
“We lost everything,” Marvina Haynes recalled. She was 20 years old at the time. “We lost the house. My parents were having disagreements because they couldn’t understand what was happening to my brother and my dad ended up moving out. My mom checked out,” Marvina Haynes said. At one point during her brother’s incarceration, she lost her business and became homeless, even sleeping in her car.
With nothing, Marvina Haynes was still determined to educate herself and advocate for her brother. The more she read and researched, the more she learned her brother and her family were not alone. “There was a pattern. This didn’t only happen to my family, it happened to many families for many years,” Marvina Haynes explained.
In 2021, Marvina Haynes founded Minnesota Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform (MNWCJR), an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to those impacted by wrongful incarceration and ensuring no one is left to suffer from a crime they didn’t commit. She is also pushing legislation aimed at protecting the families of the wrongfully accused. The Marvina Haynes Act is designed to provide relief to families, including monetary compensation, to address the impacts of the wrongful conviction from finances and housing to mental health needs. “This will help families put their lives back together,” Marvina Haynes said.
Marvin Haynes, who was released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater when his conviction was vacated in 2023, says his sister’s work is critical, “It’s extremely difficult for the family experiencing the impact of wrongful convictions,” Marvin Haynes said. “My sister is special and the voice of the family is important.”
In the Capitol rotunda during the event, families held large posters with photos of their wrongfully convicted loved ones. They told stories of despair, financial ruin and incredible trauma.
“When you think about all the time the incarcerated person has done, the family has done that time too,” said Leon Benson, who also spoke at the event. In 1999 Benson was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a man in Indianapolis. He was exonerated in March of 2023 after serving 25 years in prison and 10 of those years in solitary confinement.
After the Capitol event, MNWCJR hosted a dinner and discussion in St. Paul with a panel of families who broke bread and supported each other in the pain of the past. The group ended the day looking forward to the promise of the future.
“I’m not pointing fingers, I’m here to fix the problem,” Marvina Haynes emphasized. “I want to give our community hope.”
You can learn more about MNWCJR and the Marvina Haynes Act at: www.mnwcjr.org