What you need to know about the condemnation for murder of DNA Syed

The legal battle on the conviction of DNA Syed, scrutinized a decade ago in the success of “serial” podcast, continues to twist and …

The legal battle on Adnan Syed The conviction examined a decade ago in the success of Podcast “Serial”, continues to twist and turn, even after prosecutors released him from more than 23 years in prison for a murder that he still says he did not commit.

Baltimore prosecutors resolved a key question this week, dropping a Request to delete the Syed Registry and instead saying that his conviction for murder will remain.

But they also joined their defense lawyers to ask a judge on Wednesday to reduce his sentence while serving. The victim’s family opposed during the emotional audience, saying that he should meet his original life imprisonment.

The judge said he will govern soon. Meanwhile, this is what you, as the true crime enthusiasts who obsessed with the genre after hearing the “serial” podcast in 2014, needs to know.

How do we get here?

Syed was 17 when his ex -girlfriend and classmate of high school, Hae Min Lee, was found strangled and buried in an improvised grave in 1999. In the trial, prosecutors said Syed killed her after becoming inconsolibly when the two broke and she began to go out with another person. Syed was convicted of murder and received life imprisonment, more than 30 years.

Syed’s appeal did not gain traction until “Serial” debut season He raised doubts about the data of the cell phone tower and other tests. No eyewitness tied him to the crime, and Syed’s lawyer, Cristina Gutiérrez, could not interview an Alibi witness who said she was with Syed at the time Lee was killed. Gutierrez, a high -profile criminal defense lawyer in the Baltimore area, was inhibited in 2001 when the client’s funds disappeared. She died in 2004.

A large amount of legal activity followed in multiple courts, until the former Baltimore prosecutor’s office, Marilyn Mosby, moved to vacate the conviction in 2022, allowing Syed to walk free. But Maryland’s Supreme Court then restored the sentence for procedural reasons, saying that Lee’s family was not given enough anticipated warning to testify in person.

Mosby’s successor, Ivan Bates, announced on Wednesday’s audience that his office is withdrawing the motion to vacate “to preserve the credibility of our office and maintain public confidence in the justice system.”

A case that became a phenomenon of pop culture

Today, it is a fact that millions of people listen to podcasts where popular hosts can be catapulted in celebrity status. But in 2014, the world of podcast was still relatively new.

It was then that he fell “in series.” The Podcast was a creation of the radio producer and former Baltimore Sun Sarah Koenig reporter, who spent more than a year digging in the case of Syed and built the suspense when informing her findings in one -hour segments.

The debut in the podcast not only threw doubts about the condemnation of Syed murder; The real crime genre also overturned By portraying Syed as a comprehensive character, instead of giving the fault of a defendant.

There has been an avalanche of true interests of the crime since Koenig’s success. Experts are in conflict in the emergence of online detectiveswho can expose irregularities, but also sows distrust of the criminal justice system of the United States.

The case highlights the tension between the rights of victims and the reform of justice

“This is not a podcast for me. This is real life, “said Hae Min’s brother, Young Lee, when the conviction was unemployed in 2022.

Finally, the Lee family appealed to Maryland’s Supreme Court, arguing that crime victims should receive a more important role in the process. And the young Lee was able to speak in court on Wednesday, urging a judge to return Syed to prison for life.

Judge Jennifer Schiffer indicated that her ruling will take into account Syed’s recent achievements and the unimaginable suffering of the victim’s family, as well as the horrible nature of the crime.

She also offered an apology to the young Lee, saying: “I am very sorry for what you have happened, and all I can say is that your words do not miss me, and my heart is with you.”