Prosecutors Move to Vacate Conviction of ‘Serial’ Podcast Subject Adnan Syed — Who Could Go Free

Adnan Syed. Screencap via HBO.

Prosecutors moved to vacate the conviction of Adnan Syed, who is serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.

The case was the subject of the hit podcast Serial which debuted in 2014 and brought new evidence to the decades-old murder in which Syed has always maintained his innocence. Further evidence was uncovered by the 2019 HBO documentary The Case Against Adnan Syed.

The Wall Street Journal broke news Wednesday that prosecutors in Baltimore have filed a motion asking a judge to vacate the conviction — allowing Syed to go free pending further investigation.

Per the Journal:

The state’s attorney for Baltimore City said in a motion filed Wednesday in circuit court that a nearly yearlong investigation, conducted with the defense, found new evidence, including information concerning the possible involvement of two alternative suspects.

Prosecutors are requesting Mr. Syed be given a new trial. They said they weren’t asserting that Mr. Syed is innocent. “However, for all the reasons set forth below, the State no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction,” said the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, which is overseeing the reinvestigation.

Lee and Syed were classmates at a Baltimore high school when her body was found strangled in a park. Syed, who previously dated Lee, was 17 at the time. He was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Now 40, he has maintained his innocence ever since.

“This is big news,” the Serial podcast wrote in a tweet. “For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release.”

This is big news. For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release. https://t.co/5Z4VkWcunY

— Serial (@serial) September 14, 2022

Read the WSJ report here.