Baltimore prosecutors have reportedly dropped charges against Adnan Syed, a man who was catapulted to prominence in the podcast “Serial.”
Syed, 41, spent some 23 years behind bars before his conviction was vacated last month and he was released from prison upon the discovery of additional evidence in the case that pointed to two other possible suspects in a 1999 murder among other concerns with the case against him.
BALTIMORE PROSECUTORS ASK COURT TO VACATE ADNAN SYED CONVICTION BASED ON NEW EVIDENCE
The charges are no longer docketed and Syed’s lawyer, Erica Suter, confirmed that the charges were dropped to the Baltimore Sun.
In 2000, Syed was convicted of the February 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Investigators concluded that her death was the result of manual strangulation and found her body buried in a park. After standing trial, Syed was sentenced to life in prison.
Syed long argued that he was innocent and was featured in the debut season of the hit podcast “Serial” which raised concerns about some of the evidence behind his conviction, including phone data in the case.
The podcast explored his case over the span of 12 episodes and focused on the failings of his counsel, who was later disbarred in 2001 and died three years later.
A lawyer for Syed sought to vacate his conviction in the case back in 2016, citing a slew of concerns ranging from his counsel to weak cellphone data. Initially, a Baltimore City Circuit Court agreed with Syed that the case against him was flimsy, but the Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated the conviction against him shortly thereafter.
Earlier this year, prosecutors and lawyers for Syed requested DNA analysis on Lee’s clothing that had not been tested. So far the analysis has not yielded any useful results, per the Baltimore Sun.
Following additional inquiry into the matter, prosecutors recommended his conviction be vacated contending that “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction.”
Judge Melissa Phinn of Baltimore City Circuit Court then vacated the conviction and moved to release him on Sept. 19. She gave prosecutors about a month to decide whether to push for a new trial against him or drop the charges.
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Prosecutors previously revealed that they have identified two alternative suspects in the case, but have not named them or levied charges against them. At least one of those suspects was not divulged to Syed’s defense during his trial, which was part of the reason prosecutors lost confidence in the conviction against him, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Lee’s family appealed the overturning of Syed’s conviction last month and blasted the state attorney for failing to give them sufficient notice.
