A US judge has overturned a life sentence for a high-profile murder after more than 20 years. Adnan Syed, 41, was convicted in 2000 for the murder of his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend. His case gained worldwide fame through the podcast serial.
The Baltimore judge ordered his release after prosecutors presented two new suspects after a year-long investigation and said they were no longer convinced of Sayed’s guilt and the evidence at the original trial. He is placed under house arrest pending a possible new trial. The judge has given prosecutors 30 days to start a new case. If that doesn’t happen, Syed will be free for good.
Syed was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested in 1999 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and former classmate. According to the prosecutors, he was jealous when his ex got a new boyfriend. That’s why he would have killed her. Syed has always said he was innocent of the murder, which was found strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. The victim’s brother said during the hearing that he felt betrayed by the decision of the Public Prosecution Service.
Syed had been trying to get a new trial for some time. He was also almost released in 2018 after a higher court ruled that his now deceased lawyer had not defended him sufficiently. Maryland’s highest court then blocked his release.
In the first season of the podcast Serial, which aired in 2014, a team led by journalist Sarah Koenig looked in detail at the flawed evidence and potential mistakes made by Syed’s lawyer at trial. The podcast made Syed, who spoke in it, a well-known American and led, among other things, to a four-part HBO documentary in 2019.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.