Adnan Syed case: US court overturns murder verdict

A US judge in the US state of Maryland has reversed the murder conviction of an inmate who had been in prison for more than 20 years. The case became known worldwide through the podcast “Serial”.

Adnan Syed has been in prison for almost 23 years on charges of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Now a judge in Baltimore has granted a request from the prosecutor’s office and ordered his immediate release – in the interests of justice and fairness, she said.

Syed was placed under house arrest. The 41-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The 18-year-old’s body was discovered in a Baltimore park in February 1999. Syed was found guilty of strangling her the following year.

Syed has always maintained his innocence

Syed has always maintained his innocence. Numerous revision requests were rejected. Last week, prosecutor Marilyn Mosby surprisingly declared that she had applied for the verdict to be overturned.

That doesn’t mean he’s innocent, Mosby said. But in an almost year-long investigation in cooperation with Syed’s lawyers, new information about two other possible suspects emerged.

Judge: State violated legal duty

The two suspects were known at the time of the original investigation. However, their possible guilt was never properly ruled out.

Judge Melissa Phinn said the state failed in its legal duty to share evidence that could have strengthened Syed’s defense. Prosecutors now have 30 days to decide whether to start a new trial or drop the charges.

Fall was known through the podcast “Serial”.

Syed’s case became known beyond the United States as a result of the podcast “Serial”, which was downloaded millions of times. The podcast shed light on the case in 2014 and cast doubt on Syed’s guilt.

With information from Nina Barth, ARD Studio Washington