Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the blockbuster serial podcast, was released Monday after a judge quashed his 2000 conviction for the murder of a former high school student girlfriend Li Haimin. Said, 41, has been serving a life sentence and has maintained his innocence throughout his 23-year prison career.
The court found the trial was flawed because the state failed to disclose key evidence. According to NBC News, Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Fein said prosecutors failed to properly turn over evidence that could allow for “a very high likelihood of a different outcome.”
In Phinn’s ruling, a judge vacated Syed’s convictions for murder, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment, and the judge ordered him not to bail, NBC News said. Last week, prosecutors asked for the conviction to be quashed and a new trial to be held. Prosecutors now have 30 days to decide whether to proceed with a new trial or drop the charges.
Syed shot to fame in 2014 when he was the subject of the series’ first season. The podcast dug into the case, unearthed key details and challenged the case made by prosecutors against Syed. The podcast has been downloaded more than 100 million times and won a Peabody Award. It also contributed to a four-part documentary series on HBO in 2019 called The Case Against Adnan Syed.
Following Phinn’s ruling, the Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office said in a press release, “Judge Phinn’s motion acknowledges that the state has established that there is a Breed in Mr. Syed’s case. Dee violations. The case and new evidence has come to light.” Brady rules require prosecutors to disclose certain evidence to the defense.
“Mr. Syed deserves a new trial where he can be adequately represented and can provide up-to-date evidence,” Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement. said the press release. During the re-investigation of the case, “evidence regarding the possible involvement of two alternate suspects” was disclosed, the release said.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh also hit back at Baltimore prosecutors in a statement following the ruling. “Among other serious issues in the motion to withdraw, the allegations related to Brady’s violations are incorrect,” the statement said. “State Attorney Mosby and anyone in her office bothered with the assistant state attorney prosecuting the case. or anyone in my office to negotiate these alleged violations. Documents in this case have been provided to the defense on multiple occasions.”
Syed lawyer Erika Sut said of Syed Yide and the victim’s family. Souter said that if evidence is not disclosed as it should, “the result could be decades of innocent people like Adnan losing their lives for crimes they didn’t commit. Equally tragic, the victims in this case The family of Lee Hae-min recently had to learn that, in fact, justice has not been done for their daughter.”
Series host Sarah Koenig appeared in court on Monday to see the convictions revoke. On Tuesday, a new episode of the podcast released news about the latest events.
Serial is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcasting services.
