US judge vacates murder conviction of ‘Serial’ podcast subject Pakistani-American Adnan Syed

 

Adnan Syed, whose case was covered in the blockbuster podcast 'Serial,' leaves the courthouse with his attorney, Erica Suter, on September 19, 2022, after a judge overturned Syed's 2000 murder conviction and ordered a new trial at the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland, US. 

A court in the US state of Maryland overturned Pakistani-American Adnan Syed's murder conviction in 2000 on Monday after prosecutors admitted there were serious flaws in his trial, including two additional possible suspects in the killing of his former fiancée who were never revealed to the defence.

When the podcast 'Serial' raised concerns about his guilt, the case attracted national attention.


Syed, now 42, has long maintained that he was not the murderer of Hae Min Lee, who was 18 when she was murdered and buried in a Baltimore park in 1999. 

Judge Melissa Phinn of the Circuit Court in Baltimore ordered Syed's release from jail, where he was serving a life sentence, and placement on home detention, as well as the scheduling of a new trial.


Though he did not speak, Syed emerged from the courthouse beaming as bystanders clapped and applauded.


Following a year-long inquiry done with a public defender representing Syed, the state's attorney for Baltimore submitted a motion to dismiss the conviction on Wednesday. Several irregularities with witnesses and material from the trial were discovered. 

Prosecutors told the court that they were not yet claiming Syed was innocent, but that they no longer trusted "the integrity of the conviction," and that justice demanded that Syed be given a fresh trial.
They believe Syed should be released from prison, where he has been for more than two decades, while prosecutors finish their investigation and decide whether to seek a new trial or charge a different suspect.


Prosecutors said they had discovered fresh information regarding two unnamed alternative suspects, one of whom had threatened to kill Lee and both of whom have a history of violent crimes against women.
Their identities were revealed to the initial prosecutors but not to the defence. 

Prosecutors also determined that a key witness and the cop investigating the crime were untrustworthy.
They also discovered fresh evidence that called into question the cellphone data that prosecutors used at trial to situate Syed at the scene of the murder. 

Young Lee, the victim's brother, told the court that the prosecution' decision to alter direction after sticking by the conviction for decades stunned him and his family.


"It's incredibly difficult to go through this over and over," he remarked, his voice shaking and wobbling at times.
"It's a nightmare come true." 

In 2014, the podcast 'Serial,' produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, gained global attention to the case.

"Justice above convictions is not only our credo, but our purpose," Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney for Baltimore, said following the hearing at a news conference.
She stated that her office was awaiting additional DNA evidence test results before declaring her future moves.