Guilty
By Mitch Berg
Myon Burrell has been convicted a second time for the 2002 murder of Tyesha Edwards:
Hennepin County Judge Charles Porter found Burrell guilty of two murder counts: first-degree murder and first-degree murder for the benefit of a gang. He was acquitted of several other charges.
Edwards was shot in the heart as sat in her house in Minneapolis and did homework.
The just ended trial is the second for Burrell in the 2002 shooting. He was convicted in 2003 of first-degree murder in Tyesha’s death, but the state Supreme Court set aside the conviction in 2005, saying a statement he made to police was inadmissible. Burrell has remained in jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
The defense contends that the case was a rush to judgment and that Burrell was charged in a politically volatile atmosphere because of community outrage over Edwards’ death. In a bid to solve the killing quickly, police failed to follow other leads, the defense also said.
Hopefully that’ll be the end of it.
Although Minneapolis’ status as a criminal cesspool, thought slightly improved in recent years, just goes on and on.
April 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I know you oppose capital punishment, but after two convictions would not this child murderer be deserving?
April 9th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
The Times doesn’t even have a story!
April 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Kerm, as far as I know, he was convicted of the same murder twice.. not two convictions for two murders.
I think this case is a good example of the fact that review can turn aside, appropriately, evidence gained improperly, and still have the right outcome. It happens, rarely, that someone escapes justice due to an exception, but that doesn’t mean due process should be ignored.
One other ponit on which Mitch and I agree, Capital Punishment does nothing to affect crime rates, is extraordinarly costly, and has shown it has a large chance to fail when the wrong person is convicted.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
blah, poor english.. it has a large chance of failure, in that the wrong person has been convicted many times (in other states, Texas being at the top of the list). One point I’ll be happy to give you Mitch, you construct sentences far better than I.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Regardless, convicted beyond doubt. A little girl is dead. This piece of human garbage will be maintained at public expense for a period of time and then released.
That is not justice.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
You could go puke on his lawn. That’s something anyway.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:55 am
If we’re too noble for a death penalty, then we’re resigned to keeping him alive. But why here?
We send millions of dollars in foreign aid to places I can’t find on a map. Instead of giving them money, why not let them earn it?
Let’s outsource our long-term prisoners to Siberia. They already have a network of prison camps set up and trained guards looking for work. Undoubtedly cheaper than keeping him in Oak Park Heights and good for the global economy too.
Plus, if he were to escape, it’s only about 5,000 miles of barren wilderness in every direction, in a land where he’s the wrong color and doesn’t speak the language. I doubt the guards would even bother looking for him. On the other hand, they have wolves in Siberia, don’t they?
It’s a win-win!
.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Peeve, there is a fair bit of evidence that it is a deterrent, and even most opponents admit it has some effect. That said, I stand opposed to the way we do it today since it is far too frequently imposed. I’ll say that keeping the death penalty around for exceptional cases is ok (even Mitch dodges the question of whether Osama deserves it), but at present it’s too common with too much chance of error.
Let’s go with nate’s proposal! Siberia is ok, but there are places in Alaska that make Alcatraz look like Central Park that would serve just as well if we have to keep them in this country.