Adnan Syed's murder conviction is overturned

Adnan Syed’s murder conviction is overturned

Web Desk

22nd Sep, 2022. 09:33 pm
Share

Adnan Syed strangled and buried his girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in a park in Baltimore.
In 2000, when he was 17, he was given a life sentence for murder.
Prosecutors said there were two other possible suspects that the defence didn’t know about.

Adnan Syed will be freed now that his murder conviction, which was the subject of the popular Serial podcast, has been thrown out.

In 1999, Mr. Syed strangled and buried his girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in a park in Baltimore. In 2000, when he was 17, he was given a life sentence for murder.

Monday, a judge in Maryland threw out the conviction because prosecutors said there were two other possible suspects that the defence didn’t know about.

The Circuit Court judge in Baltimore, Melissa Phinn, said that Mr. Syed should be let out of jail and put on home detention. She also told the state that it had 30 days to decide whether it would ask for a new trial date or drop the case.

“All right Mr Syed, you’re free to join your family,” Ms Phinn said as the hearing ended.

Mr. Syed, who is now 41, has always said he was innocent and has been appealing his conviction for years.

The case was brought to the world’s attention for the first time in 2014 by a popular podcast that made people question his guilt and some of the evidence prosecutors had used.

Serial said that evidence found by witness Asia McClain could have proven that Mr. Syed was in the library when the murder happened.

Last week, prosecutors filed a motion saying that Mr. Syed’s conviction could be overturned because of new evidence found during a long investigation with the defence.

Becky Feldman, who is in charge of the Sentencing Review Unit, told the judge about some problems with the conviction, such as bad cell phone data, unreliable witness testimony, and a detective who might be biassed.