(Baltimore) A US judge on Monday overturned the conviction of a man who has been in custody for 23 years for a murder he had always denied, a case at the heart of global podcasting. a series.
Updated yesterday at 6:34 PM.
Adnan Syed, 42, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hye Min Lee in Baltimore, on the east coast of the United States.
In an unexpected twist, the city’s attorney general, Marilyn Mosby, filed a motion last week to overturn the sentence, saying she had doubts about Adnan Syed’s guilt, and calling for his release.
MI Mosby explained that he discovered “two alternate suspects,” critical information that was poorly exploited at the time and which was not reported to the defense prior to trial.
On Monday, the coroner granted the attorney general’s request, during a hearing in a crowded room in a Baltimore courthouse.
“In the interest of justice and equity, the request is granted and the defendant will be released” and fitted with an electronic bracelet, Judge Melissa Finn said.
Then the officers removed the shackles of Adnan Syed, while part of the room clapped before he asked. Full beard and head covered with a hat, he showed no reaction.
“He finds it hard to believe that’s true” and “Now wants to spend time with his family,” his attorney Erica Sutter captivated in court, while his client drove into a car without doing anything.
“deceived”
Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby insisted that justice “has not yet declared Adnan Syed innocent” and that it would wait for the results of further DNA analysis before deciding whether to drop charges or organize a new trial.
She has 30 days to do so. Regardless of her decision, she promised to continue the investigation to “make sure that Hye Min Lee’s family knows for sure the culprit.”
During the hearing, the young woman’s brother, Young Li, took the floor over the phone to explain his dismay. “Live in a never-ending nightmare,” he said, and was confided that he was “deceived” by prosecutors who had for years held the good offender accountable, before eventually changing his mind.
The case began in February 1999, when police found the body of 18-year-old Hye Min Lee half-buried in a Baltimore forest. Adnan Sayed was arrested at the age of 17 and sentenced to life imprisonment a year later.
According to the prosecution, he did not contend that she left him for someone else and strangled her. He has always claimed his innocence, claiming to be a victim of anti-Muslim prejudice.
In 2014, a team of journalists conducted a counter-investigation, which was said in twelve episodes in the first season of a series. A precursor to the age of podcasting, this radio series has, according to its producers, been downloaded more than 300 million times. It also inspired the HBO documentary.
Excuse
Investigation by journalists from a series It showed that Adnan Syed’s lawyer had neglected mobile phone expertise in favor of the accused, as well as the testimony of a young girl who offered him a possible excuse.
Their work led to the case being reopened, and in March 2018, a Maryland appeals court ordered a new trial, finding that the attorney had provided “ineffective assistance” to her client.
In March 2019, the Maryland Supreme Court acknowledged that the attorney erred in not providing certain elements, but estimated that “given the body of evidence,” the ruling would not be different if she included them. Therefore, she refused to organize a new trial.
Then Adnan Syed’s defense turned to the United States Supreme Court. In 2019, she refused to intervene, which seemed to put an end to her hopes of being released.
But the Baltimore attorney general, who has a service dedicated to correcting errors of justice, reopened the file again, eventually causing this latest judicial coup.
new episode of a series His production team announced on his Twitter account on Monday.
