Sentenced to life in prison, verdict overturned 22 years later

Sentenced to life in prison, verdict overturned 22 years later

Adnan Syed, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000 for murder, kidnapping, robbery and deprivation of liberty on the grounds that he killed his 18-year-old girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, was overturned by the court.

Syed, who was 19 when he went to jail, has always claimed he was innocent and didn’t kill his girlfriend Lee, and all of his appeals over the past 20 years have been denied.

CASE WILL BE SEEN AGAIN

Prosecutors revealed last week that there were two more possible suspects during the 1-year re-investigation phase and requested the court to overturn the verdict on Syed.

Baltimore District Judge Melissa Phinn, taking into account the prosecutors’ request, ordered Syed to be overturned, placed under house arrest, and retrial.

Prosecutors ruled that a key witness and detective investigating the murder were unreliable

Prosecutors told the court that they did not plead innocence of Syed, who is now 42, but that they no longer trust “the integrity of the conviction” and that Syed should at least be tried again. Prosecutors said they found new information about two possible suspects, whose names they did not give, and that the identities of the suspects were known to the police, but were not disclosed to the court as required by law. Prosecutors said they found new information that cast doubt on Syed’s cell phone data, while deciding that a key witness and the detective investigating the murder were unreliable.

“REALLY HARD TO EXPERIENCE THIS AGAIN”

Young Lee, the victim’s brother, said that he was shocked by the court’s decision and that his family felt betrayed by the decision. “It’s a living nightmare,” Lee said, saying, “It’s really hard to experience this over and over.”

MURDER HAS BEEN TURNED INTO PODCAST

The case attracted worldwide attention in 2014 with the podcast “The Series” produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ. Episodes of the podcast have been downloaded more than 340 million times by listeners.

While attending Woodlawn High School, Lee’s body was found buried in Leakin Park in Baltimore.

* Images of the news are provided by the Associated Press.