Baltimore prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to vacate the conviction of Adnan Syed, whose murder case drew wide attention after it was featured on the true-crime podcast \u201cSerial.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Syed has long been seeking to overturn his conviction and get a new trial in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee, but <\/b>he <\/b>has previously faced opposition from state authorities. Then on Wednesday, the Baltimore City state\u2019s attorney office said in a motion in circuit court that \u2014 while its investigation is ongoing \u2014 it had lost confidence in the conviction and identified other possible suspects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTo be clear, the State is not asserting at this time that Defendant is innocent,\u201d prosecutors wrote. \u201cHowever, for all the reasons set forth below, the State no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecutors wrote that Syed should \u201cat a minimum, be afforded a new trial,\u201d and that he should be released while they continue to investigate. They suggested that they might move to drop the case entirely, \u201ccontingent upon the results of the ongoing investigative efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Read the motion to vacate Syed’s conviction<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecutors said that a nearly year-long investigation by them and Syed\u2019s defense uncovered new information about \u201cthe possible involvement of two alternative suspects,\u201d and violations in the government\u2019s turning over evidence to the defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAdditionally, the parties have identified significant reliability issues regarding the most critical pieces of evidence at trial,\u201d prosecutors wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecutors did not name the other suspects and revealed limited information about them. They said the two \u201cmay be involved individually or may be involved together,\u201d and made references to them throughout the motion as \u201cone of the suspects,\u201d without clarifying which person they were referring to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecutors said that someone gave investigators information that one of the suspects had a motive to kill Lee, and <\/b>had said they \u201cwould make her [Lee] disappear. He would kill her.\u201d <\/b>Prosecutors also revealed that Lee\u2019s car was found behind the house of one of the suspects\u2019 family members.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The court filing <\/b>said that both prosecutors and Syed\u2019s <\/b>defense received credible information that one of the suspects committed multiple rapes and sexual assaults, and the suspect was convicted of such conduct. Prosecutors wrote that information \u201cwas not available at the time of the trial and occurred after the trial,\u201d but it nonetheless warranted further scrutiny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Syed was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested in late February 1999 in Lee\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His case was featured on \u201cSerial,\u201d which had its first season in 2014. Host Sarah Koenig detailed the events surrounding the death of Lee, Syed\u2019s former girlfriend. Lee\u2019s body was found in Baltimore\u2019s Leakin Park; investigators determined that she died by strangulation. Syed was convicted of murder in 2000 and has been serving a life sentence. He maintains his innocence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The \u2018Serial\u2019 podcast case through the eyes of a determined defender of Adnan Syed<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In 2016, a circuit court vacated Syed\u2019s conviction, citing the \u201cineffective assistance\u201d of a former attorney who failed to investigate an alibi witness, and in March 2018, the Court of Special Appeals upheld the ruling granting Syed a new trial. But in March 2019, Maryland\u2019s highest court reinstated <\/a>Syed\u2019s murder conviction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Baltimore City State\u2019s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement Wednesday that she came to conclude Syed deserves a new trial \u201cwhere he is adequately represented and the latest evidence can be presented.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe have spoken with the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and fully understand that the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable,\u201d Mosby said. She added that \u201ckeeping Mr. Syed detained as we continue to investigate the case with everything that we know now, when we do not have confidence in results of the first trial, would be unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Syed\u2019s defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, praised the development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cGiven the stunning lack of reliable evidence implicating Mr. Syed, coupled with increasing evidence pointing to other suspects, this unjust conviction cannot stand,\u201d Suter said. \u201cMr. Syed is grateful that this information has finally seen the light of day and looks forward to his day in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue took aim in particular at what she said were failures by the state to turn over evidence to Syed\u2019s lawyers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe fact that information about motives and threats of alternate suspects were kept from defense counsel for more than 20 years should shock the conscience,\u201d Dartigue said. \u201cThis is a true example of how justice delayed is justice denied. An innocent man spends decades wrongly incarcerated, while any information or evidence that could help identify the actual perpetrator becomes increasingly difficult to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n