By Ryan Fatica
Hennepin County District Court, Minneapolis, Minnesota. September 2, 2005. The trial of Marvin Haynes began 12 days ago, just 15 ½ months after the murder of Randy Sherer at Jerry’s Flower Shop on the Northside of Minneapolis. Haynes, now 17, sits at the defense table and he watches as the jury files in and takes their seats and they glance up at him and make eye contact and look away.
Haynes has been in jail these 471 days and the days have aged him. Gone is the crying boy in the interrogation room, asking for his mother. He has followed closely as the prosecution builds its case, as his cousin and three other kids from his neighborhood lie, saying he told them he’d shot a man, that he was planning to ‘hit a lick.’ Still, he has maintained some hope, some faith in the system of justice and in its ability to sort truth from falsehood. For if there is no justice here, then where?
The following occurs at 7:23 p.m. in a courtroom in the Hennepin County Government Center.
The Court: Members of the jury, have you selected a foreperson? Jurors: Yes, we have. The Court: And have you reached a verdict? Jurors: Yes, we have. The Court: Will you please hand the verdict to the deputy? Defendant please rise. The clerk will now read the verdict. The Clerk: We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of the charge of murder in the first degree. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of the charge of assault in the second degree. The Court: Would the defendant request the jury be polled? Mr. Benson: Yes, Your Honor.
At the Defense attorney’s request, each juror stood and accounted “yes” for their decision.
Like a divine invocation or a desperate plea for justice, just at the moment when the people of Minneapolis finally rendered Marvin silent, he instead spoke:
The Defendant [Marvin Haynes]: Man, I didn't kill that man. Man. They all going to burn in hell for that, I swear. The Court: Court will set sentencing for September 27th, nine o'clock. The Defendant [Marvin Haynes]: They can all burn in hell for this right here.
The streets of North Minneapolis. Friday, May 21, 2004. It’s 15 ½ months before a jury will find Marvin Haynes guilty of murder in the first degree.
About 500 residents, politicians and police officers, mostly Black men, march through the residential neighborhood. Tall oaks and maples shade the lawns. People watch from their porches, driveways. Lyndale Avenue North, Lowry Avenue North, 33rd Avenue North, Fremont Avenue North.
Randy Sherer is already dead. He was shot five days ago during a botched robbery at Jerry’s Flower Shop, which stands in the background. The windows of the shop are covered with handmade signs scrawled with messages of mourning and support. A light post out front is dotted with dyed pink, red, and blue carnations, packing tape clinging to their plastic wrappings. A makeshift cross bearing Randy’s name stands hammered into the grass reading “Randy” and the words “fishing” and “golf.”
The crowd walks slowly through the streets and a reporter weaves through the crowd, getting quotes from community leaders, cops, young men. “We’re policing ourselves,” says Spike Moss, a Black community organizer with close ties to the police. “We’re taking back our streets. We’re the ones who are putting our own into the ground.”
The reporter speaks to Minneapolis Police Inspector Don Banham, who walks the entire length of the march. “I’m glad they’re showing unity in the community and raising the consciousness level,” says Banham. “I’m in full support of any participation to help police make their communities safer. We can’t do it alone.”
The leaders of the march implore people to cooperate with police. “We have to debunk this notion that this is snitching,” says Jerry McAfee, president of MAD DADS, a group which performs “patrols” on the streets of North Minneapolis. “Our people know who did this and yet they say nothing. Who are you protecting? Murderers, who if they did it once, they will do it again. What type of vehicle do we need to put forward to get folks to speak up?”
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