Sherman Townsend  

10 YEARS IN PRISON

Sherman Townsend was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for over 10 years after being falsely identified by the true perpetrator of a 1997 home invasion. Sherman always maintained his innocence and reached out to anyone who would listen.

Sherman brought his plight to the attention of the Great North Innocence Project in 2002 as soon as we began accepting cases. His case was worked on by a number of law students at the Hamline University School of Law and the University of Minnesota Law School, as well as professors and attorneys who believed in Sherman's innocence. This is how the search for the true perpetrator of the crime began.

The search ended when David Jones, the neighbor of the victim, came forward and confessed to the crime.  He gave a chilling and detailed description of the events that occurred that night. David had been intoxicated and was attempting to sexually assault his female neighbor when he discovered her boyfriend in her room, causing him to flee the scene.  In an attempt to avoid going to prison himself in case the victim recognized him, he went back to his neighbor’s home after the crime and acted as a concerned neighbor when the police arrived on the scene. David claimed that he saw a man fleeing the scene and falsely identified Sherman after Sherman was picked up by the police and brought to the scene.

Despite numerous inconsistencies and a lack of any physical evidence tying Sherman to the scene, David testified at trial that Sherman was the man that ran into him that night, and Sherman was subsequently convicted. Years later, David went to prison, himself, for rape. While in prison, he suffered a true crisis of conscience when he realized Sherman was still in prison for the crime David had committed.

After David admitted to the crime, no evidence remained implicating Mr. Townsend. While awaiting the judge’s decision on whether to grant a new trial, then–Hennepin County District Attorney Mike Freeman offered Mr. Townsend a choice: accept a deal to be resentenced to time served and be released immediately or wait for the ruling and risk facing a new trial, during which Mr. Townsend would likely remain incarcerated.

Given that his mother was very ill at the time, Mr. Townsend took the deal and was released from prison 10 years early on October 2, 2007. His mother passed away four months after his release.

18 years after his release, Sherman’s name was finally cleared when he received an innocence-based pardon. The Pardon Board, made up of the Minnesota governor, attorney general, and state supreme court chief justice voted unanimously in favor of a pardon for Sherman. The decision by the Pardon Board followed a unanimous vote by the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission in November 2024 recommending that Mr. Townsend receive a full pardon. He was represented by the Great North Innocence Project, and pro bono attorneys from Maslon LLP, Jevon Bindman and Emily Taylor.