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BAYPORT (AP) -- Minnesota's pardon board on Tuesday freed a Black man who was sent to prison for life as a teenager in a high-profile murder case that raised questions about the integrity of the criminal justice system that put him away.
Myon Burrell's case made headlines earlier this year after The Associated Press and American Public Media uncovered new evidence and serious flaws in the police investigation into the 2002 killing of an 11-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table.
Burrell walked out of a state prison hours after the Minnesota Board of Pardons voted to commute his sentence to 20 years, with the remaining two years to be served on supervised release. Several supporters had gathered to greet him.
Burrell, who was 16 when he was sentenced, became emotional after the vote, put his hand on his head and said, "Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it."
Burrell had asked the board for a pardon and commutation to time already served. He said the request was "not in any way, shape or form me trying to minimize the tragedy of the loss of" Tysha Edwards. "I come before you, a 34-year-old man who spent more than half of his life incarcerated for a crime I didn't commit."
He spoke about how he didn't know what was going on when he was sentenced. He said he converted to Islam and became a religious leader in the prison.
"I tried to make the best of my situation," he said. "I started going in and extracting medicine out of the poison. The trials and tribulations I was going through, I tried to get something out of it."
His request was accompanied by testimony from community leaders and letters from young men in prison, who attested to his strong character and moral leadership behind bars.
"I just tried to be the best human being that I could be in hopes that one day I would be given the opportunity to go home and live life as a productive member of society," Burrell told the panel in a video conference from inside the prison.
Jimmie Edwards III, Tyesha's brother, told the AP that he and his family are upset with the decision. He said the justice system failed his family, and media coverage and support for Burrell's release overshadows his sister's death.
"She never got to go to her prom. She never got to go to college. She never got to go to junior high school or high school," he said. "Her life was taken away at 11. Who's the victim?"