The conviction of Adnan Syed for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee – which was overturned on Monday – had “systemic problems”, the host of the Serial podcast, Sarah Koenig, said, as the slain young woman’s family said they were “deeply disappointed” at how quickly developments had progressed.
A Baltimore judge ordered the release of Syed – whose case was chronicled in Serial as well as projects that separately followed up on that true crime series – after ruling that the state violated its legal obligation to share potentially exculpatory evidence with Syed’s defense.
Syed, 41, has spent more than two decades behind bars during the internationally publicized case, and the judge said the state must decide whether to seek a new trial date or dismiss the case against him within 30 days. Syed was met by a jubilant crowd outside the court, but an attorney for Lee’s family, Steve Kelly, criticized the process that led to Syed being freed on Monday.
“For more than 20 years, the Baltimore city state’s attorney’s office has told the family of Hae Min Lee that their beloved daughter and sister was murdered by Adnan Syed,” Kelly said. “One week ago, for the first time, the family was informed that, through a year-long investigation that is apparently still ongoing, the state had uncovered new facts and would be filing a motion to vacate Mr Syed’s conviction.
“For more than 20 years, no one has wanted to know the truth about who killed Hae Min Lee more than her family.”
Kelly continued: “The Lee family is deeply disappointed that today’s hearing happened so quickly and that they were denied the reasonable notice that would have permitted them to have a meaningful voice in the proceedings.”
Young Lee, Hae Min Lee’s brother, appeared virtually in the court, after the court recessed for 30 minutes to allow him to leave work and prepare to testify, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“This is not a podcast for me,” Lee said, according to the local television news station WBAL. “It’s real life that will never end. It’s been 20-plus years. It’s a nightmare.
“This is killing us.”
Lee was 18 when she was strangled and killed. Her body was found buried in Baltimore’s Leakin Park in February 1999.
Syed’s first trial, in December 1999, ended in mistrial. At his second trial, in February 2000, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Last week, prosecutors filed a motion saying a lengthy investigation conducted alongside the defense had uncovered new evidence that could undermine Syed’s conviction.
“I understand how difficult this is, but we need to make sure we hold the correct person accountable,” assistant state’s attorney Becky Feldman told the judge, as she described various details from the case that undermine the decades-old conviction, including other suspects, flawed cellphone data, unreliable witness testimony and a potentially biased detective.
Last week the state’s attorney’s office said the investigation “revealed undisclosed and newly developed information regarding two alternative suspects, as well as unreliable cellphone tower data”.
The other suspects were known to authorities at the time of their original investigation, but they were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense, said prosecutors, who declined to immediately identify those suspects.
After the hearing, Mosby said investigators were waiting for the results of “DNA analysis” before determining whether to seek a new trial date or throw out the case against Syed and “certify his innocence”.
Speaking outside the courthouse after the ruling, Mosby expressed sympathy for Lee’s brother and said she understood why he felt betrayed.
“But I also understand the importance as the administer of the criminal justice system to ensure equality and justice and fairness,” she added. “That is entitled to the defendant, as well.”
The Serial podcast’s host and executive producer, which the New York Times bought in 2020, spoke to the Times on Tuesday.
Asked which parts of the Syed case demonstrated “systemic” problems with the US legal system, Sarah Koenig said:
“Where to begin! Questionable interrogation tactics and tunnel vision by police; an overtaxed system that fails to properly interrogate evidence; prosecutors withholding evidence from the defense; our country’s tolerance for insanely long prison sentences; juveniles treated as adults when science tells us they aren’t; racism; how grindingly difficult it is to get the system to take another look at your case once you’ve been convicted; prosecutors and cops who don’t police themselves and then double down when they’re accused of doing something wrong. It’s pretty much – you name it, this case has it.
“And while I’m up here: there is nothing unusual about the presence of these systemic problems in Adnan’s case. Nothing.”
Rabia Chaudry, a lawyer and activist who has worked to overturn Syed’s conviction, has criticized the Serial podcast for omitting information relating to the investigation into Lee’s death.
“Serial set fire to Adnan’s story, to some extent deliberately, and has never apologized or made amends,” Chaudry tweeted on 16 September. “Should I be grateful? I find it hard to be. But I am grateful to the thousands that responded to the fire to help rebuild.”
Chaudry made her own podcast about the case named Undisclosed and wrote a book titled Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, which both continued calling into question the integrity of Syed’s conviction.
A 2019 HBO documentary series named The Case Against Adnan Syed also explored the case and cast doubt on whether authorities had imprisoned the right person for Lee’s slaying.
On Tuesday, Chaudry posted: “I arise full of joy,” along with a picture of her and Syed.
