Minnesota closes unit that examined potential wrongful convictions

Susan Du, Star Tribune on Jul 1, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Conviction Review Unit, the statewide agency that reviewed potential wrongful convictions, has closed, Attorney General Keith Ellison told board members in a letter Wednesday.

Ellison said he chose to wind down the CRU due to budgetary constraints.

“I am very proud of the work our CRU has done, work which has led to case corrections and people being released from prison,” Ellison wrote in the letter. “I launched the CRU because no innocent person should serve time for a crime they did not commit. Nobody benefits when the wrong person is locked up, except the perpetrator who committed the crime in the first place.”

According to a statement from the Attorney General’s office last week, Ellison had to lay off 17 of 443 total employees as part of general restructuring brought about by rising costs and other factors. The statement assured that the loss of staff would not affect the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

However, some of the cuts did hit the Conviction Review Unit, spokesperson Brian Evans confirmed Wednesday.

The Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more information, including how many criminal cases were in queue for potential review at the time of the decision.

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