The serial podcast returns with a new episode to follow Adnan Syed’s conviction is overturned.
Syed, the subject of the wildly popular real crime podcast, had served a life sentence for the 1999 murder of his high school classmate Hae Min Lee.
He has always maintained his innocence, and when his case was investigated in the podcast’s first season, many wondered if he had received a fair trial.
Earlier this month, prosecutors recommended withdrawing his conviction and giving him a new trial.
Now a Baltimore judge has overturned the conviction, releasing Syed from prison after 23 years.
Prosecutors will now decide whether to request a new trial or drop the charges against Syed.
Judge Melissa Phinn said: ‘At this point we will remove Mr Syed’s shackles’ and said his conviction had been quashed ‘in the interest of fairness and justice’.
A tweet from Serial, linking the news, said: ‘Sarah [Koenig, podcast host] was in the courthouse when Adnan was released, there’s a new episode tomorrow morning.”
Syed, who was 17 at the time, was charged after Hae’s body was found partially buried in a Baltimore park.
After the case surfaced on Serial, a follow-up investigation was launched by the State Attorney’s Office, which revealed that the prosecution had failed to inform Syed’s lawyers that the police had questioned two other suspects for Lee’s murder, and that neither suspect had ever been officially identified. heard. excluded.
According to the file, one of the suspects also threatened Lee for her death, saying he would make her disappear. He would kill her.’
By withholding this information, the state may have violated the Brady Rule — a Supreme Court precedent that requires prosecutors to hand over any evidence that could favor a suspect.
Prosecutors did not allege that Syed was innocent, but that he demanded a new trial “where he is adequately represented and final evidence can be presented.”
The state attorney advised that Syed be released on his own admission or on bail.
“We believe it would be unfair to detain Mr. Syed as we continue to investigate the case with all we know now, while we have no confidence in the results of the first trial,” Maryland State’s said. attorney Marilyn Mosby.
LAKE : Adnan Syed released from prison after murder conviction lapsed
