Prosecutors in Maryland have dropped all charges against Adnan Syed. The charges were dropped on Tuesday, this is over 20 years after he was first found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Eighteen-year-old Hae Min Lee was strangled to death in 1999.
Syed’s murder conviction was vacated by a judge in September after prosecutors unusually asked for his release, citing evidence that had not been previously disclosed to his defense team, including two other potential suspects and unreliable cellphone data that they heavily leaned on during the trial. Nearly a month after the murder conviction was vacated, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said that new DNA testing excluded Syed as a suspect.
Steve Kelly, the Lee family’s lawyer, said they learned about Syed’s case being dismissed through the media on Tuesday. “By rushing to dismiss the criminal charges, the State’s Attorney’s office sought … to prevent the family and the public from understanding why the State so abruptly changed its position of more than 20 years,” Kelly said.
Adnan Syed’s first trial, which occurred in December of 1999, was a mistrial because jurors heard the judge call Adnan’s defense attorney a liar. His second trial was two months later. It ended with Adnan’s conviction of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He was charged with murder, kidnapping, and robbery. He was given a life sentence plus 30 years.
Syed’s attorney Erica Suter said the dismissal of the case, which was chronicled in the popular podcast Serial, is “an important step.”
“He still needs some time to process everything that has happened,” Suter said.
Let’s not forget about Hae Min Lee and the justice she deserves. I’m sure her family wants answers.
Source BuzzFeed News
