Alexander, a 25-year-old from St. Paul, is finally redeeming his reputation, nearly a year after 5 INVESTIGATES the Minnesota Court Information System and discovered that he had been wrongly linked to his twin brother’s criminal record.
Error In Minnesota Court Information System (Photo: infotracer)
Error In Minnesota Court Information System
According to KSTP TV, employers frequently rejected Trayvon Andres Alexander’s applications despite letters from the State of Minnesota stating he had no criminal history because they thought he was his fraternal twin brother Travon Andrew Alexander, who has an eerily similar name.
An investigation by 5 INVESTIGATES into the Minnesota Court Information System in February found that even if Trayvon’s first and middle names were spelled correctly, a search for his name still turned up his brother’s 2017 felony conviction from Ramsey County for “criminal sex conduct.”
Jorge Saavedra, an assistant Ramsey County Attorney, started looking for a means to repair the record after his discovery not only revealed deeper issues about the veracity of employment background checks.
Trayvon’s identity is no longer associated with any criminal charges while using the online court system in Minnesota after collaboration with both police enforcement and the judicial branch in Minnesota.
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Mistaken Identity Case Resolved
When Trayvon applied for a job, he immediately noticed the impact that it had.
“Once it went through, they called me right away, I had an interview, and I was hired right then,” he said.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who released a policy statement in 2019 ordering prosecutors in his office to take into account the “collateral consequences” of criminal convictions, is pleased with the outcome.
“I really think that a prosecutor’s job is to make sure that the community is treated with justice. And that goes beyond just pursuing convictions,” added Choi. “It’s just sad to know that something like this happened, but… once we learn about it, thankfully, we have the resources to fix it,”
Trayvon, who became a parent this summer, will feel some relief just in time.
“I’m happy that I can support them and be the father that I’ve always wanted to be for my kids, Now I can prove a lot to people,” Trayvon stated.
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