Baltimore judge vacates murder conviction of Serial's Adnan Syed

andan syed photo
(Image credit: Baltimore Sun / Contributor/ Getty Images)

A Baltimore judge has overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, freeing him from prison after he served 23 years for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend in 1999, The New York Times reports.

The decision came after prosecutors filed a motion on Wednesday to vacate the conviction. The motion stated that after conducting a year-long investigation alongside Syed's defense team, "the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction" due in part to evidence that pointed to two other possible suspects. They did not assert his innocence, and the Times reports that they have yet to decide if Syed will be granted a new trial or if they will drop the charges altogether. The names of the two "alternate suspects" have not been publicly announced.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Theara Coleman, The Week US

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.