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Adnan Syed from iconic Serial podcast has been released from prison
Featured Image Credit: REUTERS / Alamy. HBO.
Adnan Syed has been released from prison after his conviction for the murder of ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee was set aside.
Baltimore Judge Melissa Phinn ruled on Monday (September 19) to release the now-41-year-old after prosecutors filed a motion to have his sentence vacated.
CNN reports there were gasps and applause in the courtroom as the judge handed down her decision.
Remembering Hae Min Lee. #JusticeForHae #AdnanSyed pic.twitter.com/8bKEoLejon
— Elise Mckenna (@EliseMckenna095) September 15, 2022
Prosecutors filed a motion last week to have the conviction vacated after new evidence was uncovered that had been never shared with Syed's defence team.
Two other suspects were also never ruled out for Lee's death.
The judge ruled that the State violated its Brady obligation, which is a legal precedent that dictates evidence in the defence's favour must be handed over by protectors to guarantee a fair trial.
We did it.
— rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) September 19, 2022
We FREED ADNAN! pic.twitter.com/4gYH8qQ3Ar
This guy! pic.twitter.com/HCL1i58OpK
— amy berg (@disarmingfilms) September 19, 2022
The judge ordered Syed to be placed on home detention with GPS monitoring.
"All right Mr. Syed, you’re free to join your family," Judge Phinn said as the hearing ended, as per CNN.
A few minutes later, Syed emerged from the courthouse smiling as he was ushered into a waiting car through a sea of cameras, reporters, and cheering supporters.
The State now has 30 days to decide whether to seek a new trial date or dismiss the case.
Syed was 17 years old when he was imprisoned for Lee's death.
She was 18 years old when her body was discovered partially buried in Leakin Park, a massive woodland in Baltimore, Maryland.
Adnan Syed's conviction has been overturned! #FreedAdnan! https://t.co/UVeoXdiA2M pic.twitter.com/LzqbwKcYww
— Colin Miller (@EvidenceProf) September 19, 2022
The park is renowned for being filled with shallow graves and dead bodies.
The case shot to international attention following Sarah Koenig's critically acclaimed podcast Serial, which did a deep dive into Lee's murder and exposed multiple holes in the State's case against Syed.
After the wildly successful podcast took a deep dive into Lee's murder, a follow-up investigation by the State’s Attorney’s Office took place, which then led to prosectors finding 'undisclosed and newly-developed information regarding two alternative suspects, as well as unreliable cell phone tower data', as per The Journal.
Court is now back in session at the #AdnanSyed hearing, and Hae's brother Young is giving comments. https://t.co/FGKskKOOPm
— Colin Miller (@EvidenceProf) September 19, 2022
The motion filed last week states that one of the suspects told Lee that 'he would make her disappear' and that 'he would kill her', according to the Wall Street Journal.
The motion to vacate does not mean that prosecutors have claimed that Syed is innocent.
He has always maintained that he did not kill Lee, his ex-girlfriend.
Topics: Crime, US News, News, True Crime
