UPDATE: 7:30pm - Burrell was released from prison this evening.
A man who was 16 when he was convicted of killing an 11-year old girl and sentenced to life in prison is being released. 34-year old Myon Burrell is having his life sentence commuted to 20 years, with the remaining time to be served under supervised release. Burrell told the Minnesota Board of Pardons today he is devoted to being the best man he can be.
"I'm not a perfect human being and I never said that I was. I never portrayed to be a perfect human being. But, I've done everything in my power to always uphold a righteous character and never allow my situation and circumstances to dictate the way I live my life."
Burrell maintained he was innocent of the killing of 11-year old Tyesha Edwards, who was shot by a stray bullet while she sat in her South Minneapolis home. Attorney General Keith Ellison, who along with Governor Tim Walz voted to commute Burrell's sentence, says they are NOT forgetting about Tyesha Edwards.
"I just want to be very clear to the Edwards family that this is a horrible tragedy that happened with their daughter. Nothing happening here today diminishes that tragedy."
The third member of the Board of Pardons, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lori Gildea, recused herself from the vote.