Adnan Syed Of "Serial" Podcast Has Charges Dropped
FILE - Adnan Syed, center, the man whose legal saga spawned the hit podcast "Serial," exits the Cummings Courthouse after a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction for the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee on Sept, 19, 2022, in Baltimore. The family of the victim has asked Maryland’s intermediate appellate court to halt Syed’s court case, pending the family’s appeal of a judge’s overturning of Syed’s murder conviction. Prosecutors must decide whether to drop the charges against Syed or retry him for the killing by Oct. 18. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, File)
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Adnan Syed, the subject of the viral podcast “Serial”, had charges dropped Tuesday by Baltimore’s State Attorney prosecutors.

Syed had his 1999 murder conviction overturned last month pending a new trial, after Baltimore prosecutors submitted a request claiming “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction.”

State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said last month that her decision on Syed’s case hinged on pending DNA testing being conducted. Mosby said she was prepared to certify Syed’s innocence, if the testing came back exonerating Syed.

[irp]

Breaking news: After the latest round of DNA testing generated results that, like previous rounds of testing, excluded Adnan Syed, he has now been formally exonerated! https://t.co/RgdYCvgHFz

— Laura Nirider (@LauraNirider) October 11, 2022

Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn gave prosecutors 30 days from the date Syed’s convictions were vacated last month. Syed has been on house arrest while the state decided whether they’d drop his charges or retry him.

Victim’s family torn by Adnan Syed release

During last month’s hearing, the brother of Hae Min Lee, who was murdered in 1999, said he felt “blindsided” and “betrayed” by the prosecution. 

“It’s tough for me to swallow, especially for my mom,” Lee told the court on a call from California. “Everyday when I think it’s over…or it’s ended, it always comes back. It’s killing me. It’s really tough.”

Young Lee cont. says he trusts the courts and the justice system and that this motion blindsided him because he thought the prosecution was on his side. “I feel betrayed.” But adds that he’s “not against investigation.” “It’s tough for me to swallow, especially for my mom.”

— Lee Sanderlin (@LeeOSanderlin) September 19, 2022

Lee went on to say it is difficult for him and his family to now think that the person responsible for killing Hae Min could still be free.

Over the past year, prosecutors said they have discovered two alternative suspects in the 1999 murder, at least one of whom, was not disclosed to Syed’s defense in the original trial. Now it seems the state will move forward in its investigation of the two suspects.

Mike Creef is a fighter for equality and justice for all. Growing up bi-racial (Jamaican-American) on the east coast allowed him to experience many different cultures and beliefs that helped give him a...