Criminal Law
Judge Overturns Murder Conviction of Adnan Syed After Podcast Brings Light to Case
A judge on Monday vacated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, years after the hit podcast “Serial” chronicled his case and cast doubt on his role in the 1999 slaying of former girlfriend Hae Min Lee.
City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn said prosecutors made a compelling argument that Syed’s conviction was flawed and that he should immediately go free.
Trial prosecutors did not properly turn over evidence to defense lawyers that could have helped them show someone else killed Lee, Phinn said. And evidence uncovered since the trial would have added “substantial and significant probability that the result would have been different.”
