Before it was closed in July, “the CRU was created after us sitting at the table with Amy [Klobuchar],” said Ianna Burrell, the sister of Myon Burrell who was incarcerated when he was just 15 and spent 18 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted for murder before getting his sentence commuted by Minnesota’s Board of Pardons and released in December 2020. “He still has not went in front of the CRU,” Ianna said.
Burrell’s CRU application to get the wrongful conviction off his record turned into an open investigation in Feb. 2023 but the unit never completed the examination. Burrell reportedly faced threats by police and informants upon his release and has since been jailed for having a weapon, which he’s restricted from having because of his wrongful conviction.
Amy Klobuchar, a current U.S. Senator who’s running for Minnesota Governor this year, used Burrell’s conviction in 2002 as a cornerstone in her political campaigning, touting that she was “tough on crime” as the Hennepin County Attorney from 1999-2007.
During Klobuchar’s tenure, “the number of African-American men and boys who ended up in the state prison system, a good many of them falsely, increased by 600%,” said Michelle Gross, a paralegal working on wrongful conviction cases and the President of Communities United Against Police Brutality.
“We estimate that there are probably about 200 people who are falsely imprisoned in the D.O.C. … a good number of them ended up there because of Amy Klobuchar.” Michelle Gross, paralegal working on wrongful conviction cases
Gross estimates a potential 200 people are currently “falsely imprisoned” in Minnesota with Klobuchar responsible for “a good number of them.”
Gross questioned if the CRU shutting down near a pivotal election season provided extra cover for Klobuchar, who previously faced an onslaught of protests during her 2020 run over her handling of Myon Burrell and others’ cases.
“She had a very big role in this and I questioned whether the shutting down of the CRU has something to do with covering for Amy Klobuchar. I’m frankly disgusted.” Michelle Gross
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