() — The podcast that shed light on Adnan Syed’s case was present on Monday when he was released to house arrest.
“Serial” explored Syed’s conviction for the murder of his high school sweetheart Hae Min Lee. Judge Melissa Phinn of the Baltimore City Circuit Court on Monday reversed his 1999 conviction.
The “Serial” podcast closely followed the Adnan Syed case.
In 2014, “Serial”, hosted by journalist Sarah Koenig, helped spark interest in podcasts and in the particular case of Syed. The first season, made up of 12 episodes, broke the podcast record at the time of its release with more than 300 million downloads, according to the show’s producers.
The podcast continues to be frequently cited as one of the most popular podcasts in the world and was No. 1 on Apple’s podcast list on Tuesday, the same day a new episode was released in which Koenig explains how the release came about. of Syed.
A Baltimore prosecutor stumbles upon two handwritten notes in Adnan’s case file. They change everything. A new episode from season one, out now. https://t.co/0O60tPrtxS
— Serial (@serial) September 20, 2022
“According to the prosecution, they did not set out to dismantle Adnan’s case, that is, their own case,” Koenig says in the new episode. “They say he just fell apart once they had a thorough look.”
Syed was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment.
Material from the state investigation that was not properly provided to Syed’s defense attorneys, and the existence of two suspects who may have been improperly exonerated as part of the investigation were the reasons for the reversal of the conviction.
“The Adnan case was a mess, it’s a mess. It’s pretty much where we were when we stopped reporting in 2014,” Koenig says on the podcast. “Baltimore City Police have told the prosecution that they are going to put someone back on the case. Someone will try to talk to the two suspects that Becky [Feldman, jefa de la unidad de revisión de sentencias de la fiscalía] identified in the motion. I have no predictions about what might come of that. But I do know that the chances of the state trying to prosecute Adnan again are remote at best.”
Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether they want to hold a new trial against Syed.
— Sabrina Shulman, Kristina Sgueglia, Lauren Koenig, Dakin Andone and Eric Levenson contributed reporting.
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