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Adnan Syed Ordered Free After Judge Overturns Murder Conviction Highlighted by ‘Serial’ Podcast

© AP Photo / Brian WitteAdnan Syed, center, leaves the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore.
Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.09.2022
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After being found guilty of killing his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, whose body was discovered partially buried in a Baltimore park in February 1999, Syed was given a life sentence plus 30 years. For years, he unsuccessfully tried to appeal his conviction, which eventually became the source of enormous media attention.
Adnan Syed was ordered to be released by a Baltimore judge on Monday after his conviction for the 1999 murder of his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee was overturned, US national media outlets reported.
Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn reportedly granted Syed's freedom as she ordered his conviction be overturned at the request of the prosecution after they discovered fresh evidence. Syed is now 41 years old and has been imprisoned for more than 20 years. In the crowded courtroom, there were cheers and gasps when the judge announced the decision, per the reports.
Phinn supposedly concluded the state had broken its legal duty to release evidence that would have strengthened Syed's defense.

“All right Mr. Syed, you’re free to join your family,” Phinn said at the hearing, thus ending the man's 23-year-long detention.

In the end, Syed was put in home detention with GPS location monitoring, per her order. The state now has 30 days to decide whether to request a new trial date or to dismiss the case, the judge added.
Syed reportedly left the courthouse smiling as he was led past a swarm of cameras and a mob of cheering spectators to an SUV that was waiting for him. Syed remained silent throughout the hearing and did not speak to the media outside the court.
However, during the hearing, his attorney Erica Suter gave this account of his response to the verdict: "He said he couldn’t believe it’s real."
This case was covered in the wildly popular podcast "Serial," a true-crime series that captivated audiences worldwide. The podcast concentrated on Lee's murder and cast doubt on some of the evidence used by the prosecution in 2014.
'Serial' Star Adnan Syed Granted New Trial by Baltimore Judge - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.08.2016
World
‘Serial’ Saga: Maryland Fights New Trial In Adnan Syed Murder Case
According to reports, prosecutors said in a request this week that new information had been found during a protracted probe with the defense that could call into question Syed 2000's conviction.

“I understand how difficult this is, but we need to make sure we hold the correct person accountable,” Becky Feldman, an assistant state's attorney, told the judge that there were several aspects of the case that raised doubts about the conviction.

She also mentioned the existence of additional suspects, inaccurate cellphone data, dubious witness evidence, and a possibly biased detective.
State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby stated following the hearing that detectives are awaiting the results of "DNA analysis" before deciding whether to ask for a new trial date or to "certify Syed's innocence" and drop the charges against him altogether.

Case of Hae Min Lee's Killing

Following a nearly yearlong inquiry, prosecutors filed a motion to overturn Syed's conviction. They noted that since the crime occurred more than 20 years ago, "DNA testing has changed and improved drastically." At the time, Mosby declared that although the state "lacks confidence in the integrity of the conviction" and that Syed should receive a new trial, prosecutors were "not asserting, at this time, that Mr. Syed is innocent."
The case was reopened after new information about two suspects other than Syed surfaced, including one who allegedly threatened to kill Lee and make her "disappear," according to the prosecution. Syed's attorneys claimed that up until this year, neither he nor his legal team was aware that such information existed.
At the time of her disappearance in January 1999, Adnan and Lee were seniors at Baltimore County's Woodlawn High School. Three weeks later, her strangled body was found in a city forest.
The potential suspects were allegedly known persons of interest at the time of the initial investigation and were supposedly neither appropriately ruled out nor revealed to the defense. The state withheld the suspects' names.
According to the reports on the investigation, the inquiry also showed that one suspect had been found guilty of assaulting a woman inside her car. The second suspect was reportedly found guilty of committing multiple rapes and sexual assaults.
Jay Wilds, a friend of Syed's, testified at the initial trial that he assisted Syed in digging a grave for Lee's body. Prosecutors used cellphone records and expert witness testimony to place Syed near the location of Lee's grave, supporting the theory, which resulted in life imprisonment for Syed.
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