Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated A Baltimore judge vacated the conviction of Adnan Syed, who at 18 years old was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.

Lee was found strangled to death in Baltimore’s Leakin Park in 1999.

Judge Melissa Phinn says Syed will be released under home detention.

The workplace of the State’s Lawyer for Baltimore City said in a movement recorded last week that there was new data around two likely elective suspects. This detail makes another preliminary fundamental, examiners said.

Though prosecutors asked the judge to vacate the conviction in their recent motion, they are not saying Syed is innocent of the crime. They are saying they lack confidence in “the integrity of the conviction.”

Syed’s case received nationwide attention in 2014 with the release of the podcast Serial, which has been downloaded millions of times. HBO later released its own documentary, The Case Against Adnan Syed.

Thousands have closely monitored this case after becoming engrossed by the details of the case, with many believing that Syed is innocent.

A Baltimore judge on Monday requested the arrival of Adnan Syed subsequent to upsetting Syed’s conviction for the 1999 homicide of secondary school understudy Hae Min Lee — a case that was chronicled in the hit web recording “Sequential,” a genuine wrongdoing series that mesmerized audience members and reformed the class.

At the behest of prosecutors who had uncovered new evidence, Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn ordered that Syed’s conviction be vacated as she approved the release of the now-41-year-old who has spent more than two decades behind bars. There were gasps and applause in the crowded courtroom as the judge announced her decision.

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated Phinn decided that the state disregarded its lawful commitment to share proof that might have reinforced Syed’s protection. She requested Syed to be put on home detainment with GPS area checking. The appointed authority likewise said the state should choose whether to look for another preliminary date or excuse the case in 30 days or less.

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

Minutes later, Syed emerged from the courthouse and flashed a small smile as he was shepherded to a waiting SUV through a sea of cameras and a cheering crowd of supporters.

Syed has consistently kept up with his guiltlessness. His case caught the consideration of millions out of 2014 when the introduction time of “Sequential” zeroed in on Lee’s killing and raised questions about a portion of the proof examiners had utilized, rousing warmed banters across supper tables and water coolers about Syed’s honesty or culpability.

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated Last week, prosecutors filed a motion saying that a lengthy investigation conducted with the defense had uncovered new evidence that could undermine the 2000 conviction of Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend.

“I understand how difficult this is, but we need to make sure we hold the correct person accountable,” assistant state’s attorney Becky Feldman told the judge as she described various details from the case that undermine the decades-old conviction, including other suspects, flawed cellphone data, unreliable witness testimony and a potentially biased detective.

After the conference, State’s Lawyer Marilyn Mosby said examiners are sitting tight for the consequences of “DNA investigation” prior to deciding if to look for another preliminary date or toss out the body of evidence against Syed and “confirm his guiltlessness.”

The investigation “revealed undisclosed and newly-developed information regarding two alternative suspects, as well as unreliable cell phone tower data,” Mosby’s office said in a news release last week. The suspects were known persons at the time of the original investigation, but weren’t properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense, said prosecutors, who declined to release information about the suspects, due to the ongoing investigation.

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated Examiners said they weren’t attesting that Syed is honest, yet they needed certainty “in the respectability of the conviction” and suggested he be delivered on his own recognizance or bail. The express’ lawyer’s office had said in the event that the movement were conceded it would really place Syed in another preliminary status, abandoning his convictions, while the case stayed dynamic.

Syed was led into the crowded courtroom in handcuffs Monday. Wearing a white shirt with a tie, he sat next to his attorney. His mother and other family representatives were in the room, as was Mosby.

In 2016, a lower court ordered a retrial for Syed on grounds that his attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, who died in 2004, didn’t contact an alibi witness and provided ineffective counsel.

But after a series of appeals, Maryland’s highest court in 2019 denied a new trial in a 4-3 opinion. The Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that Syed’s legal counsel was deficient in failing to investigate an alibi witness, but it disagreed that the deficiency prejudiced the case. The court said Syed waived his ineffective counsel claim.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review Syed’s case in 2019.

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated The genuine wrongdoing series was the brainchild of long-lasting radio maker and previous Baltimore Sun correspondent Sarah Koenig, who went through over a year diving into Syed’s case and revealing her discoveries in practically continuous in extended sections. The 12-episode digital recording won a Peabody Grant and was extraordinary in promoting webcasts for a wide crowd.

During the hearing, Hae Min Lee’s brother Young Lee spoke to the court, saying he feels betrayed by prosecutors, since he thought the case was settled.

“This is not a podcast for me. This is real life,” he said.

Speaking outside the courthouse after the ruling, Mosby expressed sympathy for Lee’s brother and said she understands why he feels betrayed.

Adnan Syed, subject of ‘Serial’ podcast, is released after his conviction is vacated “Yet, I additionally comprehend the significance as the regulate of the law enforcement framework to guarantee uniformity and equity and decency. That is qualified for the litigant, also,” she added.