Adnan Syed, whose prosecution in the 1999 killing of his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee was examined in minute detail in the massively popular 2014 season of the HBO hit podcast Serial The Case Against Adnan Syed, released from prison after 23 years, with a Maryland judge today overturning his murder conviction.
Serial tweeted that host Sarah Koenig was present at the hearing and will release a new episode of the podcast Tuesday.
Millions of podcast listeners are likely thinking “told ya so” today!
“This is big news,” tweeted the Serial podcast. “For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release.”
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The strangulation murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee became a national obsession 15 years after it occurred when Sarah Koenig’s Peabody Award-winning podcast raised serious doubts about the case and the conviction. The investigative report had listeners divided over whether Syed was guilty, whether he had an accomplice, or whether he was entirely innocent. A 2019 HBO docuseries, The Case Against Adnan Syed, also raised doubts.
A new trial, or a decision to abandon the case against Syed, would depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation. In the meantime, the motion sought the release of Syed on his own recognizance.
