Baltimore prosecutors move to vacate murder conviction of Serial's Adnan Syed


Baltimore prosecutors are petitioning a judge to vacate the conviction of Adnan Syed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, per an exclusive report from The Wall Street Journal. Both Syed and his case were the subject of the first season of hit true crime podcast Serial back in 2014.
The Baltimore City state's attorney filed a motion on Wednesday stating that, after a yearlong investigation in conjunction with Syed's defense team, new evidence that could implicate two alternative suspects had been discovered. For instance, prosecutors apparently unearthed a statement alleging that one of the two alternate suspects said "he would make [Lee] disappear. He would kill her," per the court filing. The defense was never given that information.
Though prosecutors are not asserting that Syed is innocent, they are requesting he be given a new trial in light of the new evidence. "[T]he 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 review of the case, per the Journal. Mosby's office is also recommending Syed be released from prison pending the ongoing investigation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Syed, a Baltimore native, has been serving a life sentence since 2000, when he was found guilty of strangling Lee. He was charged as an adult despite being 17, and has maintained his innocence ever since.
Syed has also lost several appeals since his conviction. Most recently, a special appeals court in 2018 ruled that he deserved a new trial, but a Maryland court overturned the decision the following year.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
The Supreme Court case that could forge a new path to sue the FBI
The Explainer The case arose after the FBI admitted to raiding the wrong house in 2017
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Swearing in the UK: a colourful history
In The Spotlight Thanet council's bad language ban is the latest chapter in a saga of obscenity
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence