A Minnesota group is fighting for families who say their loved ones are wrongfully incarcerated. Here's how.
Marvin Haynes spent two decades behind bars in Minnesota for a crime he didn't commit. His sister, Marvina Haynes, says he's not the only innocent person locked up.
"I give people the freedom and the will to be able to tell their family's story," said Marvina Haynes, who leads the Minnesota Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform.
The group marched through the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday to hang a banner.
A banner that represents families fighting to gain the freedom of the loved ones they say are incarcerated wrongfully.
"I'm the sister of Marvin Haynes, who was wrongfully incarcerated for 20 years at the age of 16," said Marvina Haynes.
She fought for years to overturn her brother's conviction; now she is working to help other families do the same.
"When we see one claim of innocence and that is overturned, we know that something happened and we have to look at the time when those prosecutors were in office to see how many other cases that they had they could have made mistakes on," Marvina Haynes said.
She says wrongful convictions are not accidents, but symptoms of a broken criminal legal system. She wants to fix that so families waiting for their loved one's cases to be heard can get the justice they've longed for.
"This is a very big issue. We have declared a state of emergency around wrongful incarceration," said Marvina Haynes.
She wants the Minnesota Conviction Review Unit reopened with independent oversight and adequate funding.
"The CRU was a very vital entity to folks who had a merit of innocence, " said Marvina Haynes.
She is also pushing for legislation to create the Marvina Haynes Exonerated Persons and Victims Act, to make sure once people are released, there are resources to help make integration back into society smooth for them and their families.
"We need you to sign the petition, call your legislators, demand that nobody is left behind in Minnesota prisons," Marvina Haynes said.
She wants to meet with the candidates for Minnesota attorney general and governor before the election to discuss wrongful convictions.
