Adnan Syed, subject of 'Serial' podcast season 1, released from prison after judge vacates conviction

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Judge vacates conviction of 'Serial' subject Adnan Syed | CNN

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A judge on Monday approved a motion to vacate the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the popular "Serial" podcast, who has maintained he is innocent in the 1999 slaying of his ex-girlfriend.

 

 

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In explaining her decision to vacate, Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn cited material in the state investigation that was not properly turned over to defense attorneys, as well as the existence of two suspects who may have been improperly cleared as part of the investigation.

 

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Syed and prosecutors in March filed a joint motion for post-conviction DNA testing, saying that since the crime occurred more than two decades ago, “DNA testing has changed and improved drastically.”

 

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The alternative suspects were known persons at the time of the original investigation “and were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense,” according to Mosby’s statement.

 

The state is not disclosing the names of the suspects but said that, according to the trial file, one of them said, “He would make her [Ms. Lee] disappear. He would kill her.”

 

The investigation also revealed that one suspect was convicted of attacking a woman in her vehicle, according to the statement. The second suspect was convicted of engaging in serial rape and sexual assault, the statement said.

 

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Syed’s attorneys “identified significant reliability issues regarding the most critical pieces of evidence at trial,” Mosby’s statement said.

 

In the 2019 HBO docuseries “The Case Against Adnan Syed,” an attorney for Syed said his client’s DNA was not found on any of the 12 samples retrieved from the victim’s body and car. That testing was not part of the official investigation by authorities.