When Innocence Doesn’t Matter: How Ramsey County Public Defenders Force Minnesotans Into Guilty Pleas—and Why You Should Care

Vision of Peace Statue Inside Ramsey County Court House

Innocent Until Proven Guilty? Not in Minnesota.

We often assume that anyone incarcerated or sent to prison must be guilty of a crime. After all, why else would they be behind bars? But these preconceived notions couldn’t be further from the truth. The harsh reality is that far too many Minnesotans—particularly those who cannot afford proper legal defense—are being coerced into guilty pleas, convicted without adequate representation, and silenced without the public ever knowing the truth.

Consider this: The National Registry of Exonerations has documented 3,614 exonerations nationwide since 1989—innocent people who were once branded as criminals. Last year alone, 153 individuals were exonerated, and a staggering 84% of them were persons of color. Here in Minnesota, Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was recently released after spending 16 years in prison on a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit—prosecutors ultimately admitted he was innocent.

Additionally, Marvin Haynes: Wrongfully Convicted at 16, Exonerated After Nearly 20 Years

In 2004, Marvin Haynes was just 16 years old when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of Randy Sherer during a robbery at Jerry’s Flower Shop in Minneapolis. His conviction rested solely on shaky eyewitness testimony—there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime. Despite consistently maintaining his innocence, Haynes was sentenced to life in prison.

After nearly two decades behind bars, his wrongful conviction was finally vacated. Haynes walked free from Stillwater Correctional Facility in 2023, a powerful testament to the systemic flaws in Minnesota's criminal justice system, particularly its overreliance on unreliable witness accounts and lack of meaningful defense for vulnerable defendants. His case highlights how easily innocence can be disregarded—and how long it takes to undo such grave injustices.

Even more shocking, 67% of people currently sitting in Minnesota jails have not been convicted of any crime. They are legally innocent but remain incarcerated simply because they cannot afford the price of freedom—bail, lawyers, or the resources to fight back against a system designed to pressure the poor into submission.

Who Are The People Ramsey County Is Employing To Present These Plea Deals?

There’s also a dangerous assumption that public defense offices—especially in a state like Minnesota—would only staff their ranks with honorable, reputable attorneys who act with integrity and uphold the law. Unfortunately, this assumption is false.

The kind of attorneys filling the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office reveal a deeply troubling pattern. Consider Former Ramsey County Attorney Adam Kujawa, who, in 2024, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct. His victim bravely provided records detailing how Kujawa and others like him communicate with indigent clients—clients who have no choice but to rely on these same public defenders for their freedom. One victim’s statement reveals exactly how deep this corruption runs:

“I have been mortified to see that Adam was right—he, a wealthy white attorney, will not face consequences and will receive special, extremely lenient treatment. My voice was squashed, just as Adam had said it would be.”

If this is how attorneys like Kujawa treat vulnerable victims behind closed doors—knowing full well the system will protect them—it begs the question: How many more vulnerable Minnesotans have been coerced, silenced, or sacrificed because they lacked the money to hire private counsel?

Its Time For Change

The problem isn’t just overwork or underfunding—it’s who is being entrusted to represent the most defenseless people in our community. And it’s happening in plain sight.

This isn’t a hypothetical injustice. It’s happening right now, in real-time, in Ramsey County and across Minnesota. Innocent men and women, like Romello Ifonlaja, are being railroaded into guilty pleas because public defenders refuse to fight for them, judges look the other way, and local newspapers print half-truths without ever speaking to the accused or their families.

Justice in Minnesota is being sold to the highest bidder, while the powerless pay with their lives and futures.

But you can help change that.

Imagine standing in front of a courtroom, innocent but voiceless. Imagine being told by the lawyer assigned to defend you—paid by the state, by your tax dollars—that if you want actual defense, you need to “hire a lawyer.” Imagine knowing you can’t afford one, and your only advocate refuses to represent your truth.

This isn’t a story from decades past. It’s happening right now in Ramsey County, Minnesota. It’s happening to Romello Ifonlaja. And it’s likely happening to countless others, trapped in a system designed to protect the powerful, not the innocent.

The Ugly Truth About Public Defense in Minnesota

The Minnesota Board of Public Defense proudly touts its “Best Practices.” They preach Client-Centered Representation, promising that each person has “the authority, ability, and right to dictate the direction” of their case. They promise Vertical Representation—ongoing, meaningful relationships with attorneys who are supposed to fight for their clients.

But here’s the truth: in Romello Ifonlaja’s case, these best practices are being trampled.

Romello Ifonlaja is currently charged with a homicide he did not commit.

For nearly a year, Romello repeatedly asked the Board to replace his public defender, citing criminal conduct and coercion. His assigned attorney outright refused to argue a not guilty plea, repeatedly telling him the only option was to plead guilty—unless, of course, he could “pay for a lawyer.”

Emails and audio recordings exist, obtained legally under Minnesota’s One-Party Consent law, featuring the 2024 head of the Ramsey County Public Defender's Office, John Riemer. The Minnesota Board of Public Defense was informed of this misconduct well before Romello Ifonlaja’s case reached pretrial in 2024.

The judge assigned to the case, Honorable Judge Kellie M. Charles, has been repeatedly made aware of the misconduct by public defender Daniel Adkins of North Star Law Group and the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office. Yet, Judge Charles has continued to schedule hearings as if no misconduct has been reported.

Currently, Judge Charles has set a hearing for April 28, 2025, despite Ifonlaja stating in open court that he never withdrew his plea. Meanwhile, local newspapers have published misleading reports, echoing the prosecution’s narrative without ever contacting Romello or his family for comment.

No one listened.

Romello entered a guilty plea—not because he was guilty, but because he feared what would happen without any defense. He feared, rightly, that representing himself in a homicide case without legal knowledge would ensure a life sentence.

Currently, false reports claim that the subject voluntarily withdrew his plea. In reality, the courts reversed the accepted plea and removed the subject from prison without his knowledge or participation—no law at all.

Now, after being sent to prison, Romello was inexplicably pulled back to jail. Newspapers falsely reported he “withdrew” his plea—he didn’t. He wasn’t even informed of such a withdrawal until after it was already published. For over five weeks, his public defender has had zero meaningful contact with him. No case preparation. No defense. No voice.

Constitutional Rights Violated

Romello’s case doesn’t just violate public trust—it violates core constitutional protections, including:

• Sixth Amendment: The right to effective assistance of counsel and to confront witnesses. Romello's attorney has refused to provide a defense.

  
  

• Fourteenth Amendment: The guarantee of due process and equal protection. Coercing guilty pleas through neglect and denial of representation strips due process bare.

  
  

• Eighth Amendment: Protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Forcing a man to accept prison for a crime he did not commit, under threat and coercion, is nothing short of cruel.

  
  

• First Amendment: Denial of Romello’s ability to communicate freely with his representation, violating his right to petition for redress.

Furthermore, the Board’s own stated best practices have been blatantly ignored:

• No vertical representation

• No collaboration or trust-building

• No client-centered respect for the direction of the case

Public Defense Is Only Public When the Public Is Watching

This is more than one case. It’s a systemic rot.

Minnesota’s Public Defenders’ Office knows this is happening. Judges know. Local papers prefer to regurgitate one-sided narratives rather than report the truth.

Romello Ifonlaja, innocent, remains voiceless behind bars. Unless we speak up for him.

How Many More Innocent Minnesotans Will Be Sacrificed to a System That Discards Lives Simply Because Those Within It Have Grown Hardened to the Work They Are Paid—By Taxpayers—To Do Responsibly?

Each wrongful conviction isn’t just a personal tragedy—it’s a breach of public trust and a waste of the taxpayer dollars meant to uphold justice, not destroy lives. Minnesotans deserve a justice system where every dollar, every role, and every case is treated with integrity, not indifference.

Romello Ifonlaja has the constitutional right to effective legal counsel—an advocate who will stand by him, represent his interests zealously, and ensure a fair trial. That right is not being honored. Instead, Romello has been abandoned by those entrusted to defend him, coerced into silence, and left to face the full weight of the justice system without meaningful representation.

How many more Marvin Haynes or Edgar Barrientos-Quintana cases must Minnesota produce before we demand real accountability? We already know the system is broken. We already know the devastating consequences of indifference and neglect. But unlike past cases where justice was served only after decades of wrongful imprisonment, we still have time to stop this injustice before it is cemented.

Romello Ifonlaja does not need another public defender in name only. He deserves real defense, real advocacy, and real justice. The facts of his case are already being blurred, buried, and distorted—not after the trial, but before it. There is still time to intervene. There is still time to demand that Romello receives not vanity representation, but actual, ethical counsel prepared to fight for his innocence.

How many more lives must be destroyed before Minnesota’s leaders, courts, and public defense system decide enough is enough?

Mourning With The Community

We acknowledge and mourn the loss of life in this matter. However, the loss of one life does not justify the sacrifice of another innocent life. Supporting such an exchange makes us no better than the injustices we claim to stand against. True justice demands accountability, fairness, and the courage to prevent further wrongful harm.

How You Can Help

Romello is currently seeking private legal representation. Legal battles cost money—and without public pressure, no one is coming to his aid. He cannot afford to fight this fight alone.

Go to our Give Plenty today.

Every dollar helps Romello secure real legal defense, expose the misconduct rampant in Minnesota’s public defense system, and reclaim his freedom. Your donation will make a tangible difference. Receipts will be provided.

Why This Matters

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every defendant has the right to legal counsel, regardless of income. But decades later, that right exists only on paper in Minnesota.

What happens to Romello today can happen to anyone tomorrow.

Let’s face it, the mistake here isn’t a mere matter of sentence tabulation. The real error lies in the fact that anything—including coercion, violence, manipulation, suppression, constitutional amendment violations and now fraud—was done to pressure an innocent young man into pleading guilty. What’s more, this injustice has now come back to haunt those who participated in this egregious mishandling because its not right.

The reality is that this entire case has been handled illegally, and multiple parties with a legal obligation to correct it have, instead, turned a blind eye. This pattern of negligence and indifference has become the hallmark of what is known as ‘Minnesota Nice,’ and it’s about time we confront the consequences of that false ideal.

Justice shouldn't be reserved for the wealthy. Innocence shouldn’t come with a price tag.

Stand with Romello. Stand for the Constitution. Stand for truth.

Donate now.

Press Update: "Judge Allows Alleged St. Paul Shooter to Withdraw Guilty Plea in 2023 Killing, Citing Pre-Plea Mistake"

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