Adnan Syed to formally be re-sentenced after judge ruled no more prison time for 1999 murder
Adnan Syed will be formally re-sentenced on Friday, March 14, just over a week after a judge ruled he should not serve any more prison time for the murder conviction of Hae Min Lee, his high school girlfriend who was found dead in Baltimore's Leakin Park in 1999.
Syed, whose murder case was highlighted in the first season of the true-crime podcast "Serial," was re-sentenced to the 20-plus years he has already served for his 2000 conviction, plus five years of probation.
Syed remains convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer determined on March 6 that Syed"is not a danger to the public" and that the "interests of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence."
The judge's ruling was made under the Juvenile Restoration Act, a Maryland law that permits individuals who have served at least 20 years in prison for crimes committed as minors to seek a modified sentence.
Adnan Syed's murder conviction
Syed was 17 at the time of Lee's 1999 murder. He served 23 years in prison before his conviction was vacated in 2022.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2000, but has been out of prison since 2022, when Baltimore prosecutors moved to vacate his conviction over unreliable evidence.
His murder conviction was reinstated in March 2023, after the Maryland Appellate Court found the circuit court violated the rights of Young Lee, Hae Min Lee's brother. Justices said that insufficient notice was given to Lee's family about the vacatur hearing.
Just before the re-sentencing hearing, Bates said his office was withdrawing their motion to vacate Syed's murder conviction, meaning the conviction stands regardless of whether Syed's sentence was reduced.
Bates said former City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's decision to vacate Syed's conviction was based on "false and misleading statements that undermine the integrity of the judicial process."
Bates then apologized to Lee's family.
"I would like to offer Mr. Lee and his entire family an apology for how you were treated during this process," Bates said. "It's not indicative of what this office is. We recognize the hurt and the pain that your family has gone through. We do say we are sorry about that."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two dozen firearms, meth, stolen items found in Pittsburg narcotics search, PPD says
PITTSBURG, Kan. – Two convicted felons are back in jail after a narcotics search on a suspected methamphetamine distributor turned up drugs, stolen property, and two dozen guns, police say. Pittsburg Police's Special Response Team executed a drug search warrant on the morning of June 12 at a home in the 700 block of East 10th Street, reportedly uncovering the suspected methamphetamine, marijuana, stolen items, and firearms. Christopher Edward Lee, 51, and Irella Lee Burton, 37, were detained at the scene and later arrested. Both are convicted felons. Two dozen firearms, meth, stolen items found in Pittsburg narcotics search, PPD says Pitt State camp offers hands-on nursing summer camp for kids Kansas Regents approve tuition increases; What PSU students can expect PSU among Kansas colleges raising tuition SEK Special Olmypians enjoy 'Luau'-themed sendoff Lee faces multiple felony charges, including drug distribution and illegal firearm possession. His prior convictions include drug possession and manufacturing and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Burton faces charges similar to Lee's, related to Thursday's arrest. Her criminal history includes drug possession, theft, and criminal damage to property. The Crawford County Sheriff's Office and Kansas Bureau of Investigation assisted Pittsburg PD with the case. The investigation remains ongoing, and PPD is asking anyone with more information to reach out. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man who murdered uncle and hid body in bank jailed
A drug dealer who kidnapped and murdered his uncle before hiding his body in a bank vault has been jailed for more than 34 years. Asghar Badshah, a 39-year-old bus driver from Bradford, was taken to a disused bank on Commercial Street in Batley by his nephew, Tahir Syed, on 30 November 2019 over a missing sum of money, Leeds Crown Court heard. Mr Badshah was beaten to death and his body was found behind a false wall in a vault four weeks later. Syed, 42, of no fixed address, was found guilty of murder, conspiracy to kidnap and drugs conspiracy offences on Monday and sentenced at the same court earlier. Syed and his associates had imported tonnes of cocaine and heroin to the UK in more than 30 shipments between 2016 to 2021, the court heard. Judge Thomas Bayliss KC said Mr Badshah had been asked to "hide a large amount of cash" by Syed, who then suspected Mr Badshah of stealing £600,000 from him. The court was told how Mr Badshah was kidnapped from his mother's address in Mayo Road, Bradford, in a Mercedes at around 01:35 GMT on the day of the murder and taken to the bank, where he was beaten with a metal rod. Syed lied to his family, the court heard, telling them that his uncle was still alive, knowing that in reality his naked body had been stored in an old vault in the disused bank. Judge Bayliss said: "I am quite sure that your primary purpose, was to detain and interrogate Asghar Badshah, in order to ascertain where the missing money was." Syed was jailed for a minimum term of 34 years and 153 days, taking into account almost four years already spent behind bars since being extradited from Turkey. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. West Yorkshire Police
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
105 South Koreans sue former president for ‘emotional damages'
SEOUL, South Korea - It's been a season of legal woes for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. His short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 first landed him in front of the Constitutional Court - which removed him from office later that month - and then in the Seoul Central District Court, where he is now being tried on charges of insurrection. There is also the group of 105 irate citizens suing Yoon for emotional damages related to his power grab, which sent special forces soldiers to occupy the National Assembly and brought the press briefly under military control. Filed shortly after South Korean lawmakers voted to overrule Yoon's martial law order last year, the lawsuit is demanding compensation of 100,000 won ($73) for each of its plaintiffs. The first hearing is due later this month. "The defendant's declaration of emergency martial law and the actions that followed were unlawful, violating the plaintiffs' basic rights as South Korean citizens such as the freedom to one's life and body and the guarantee of human dignity, in addition to inflicting mental harm such as fear, anxiety, discomfort and shame," the complaint said. Behind those words is Lee Gum-gyu, a 52-year-old attorney who specializes in urban development law, but has become nationally known for facing down presidents in their impeachment trials. The first was conservative president Park Geun-hye, whom Lee, as a member of the legislature's legal team, helped oust in 2016 following a major graft scandal. The second - and the only other South Korean leader to be removed from office - was Yoon. As a member of the National Assembly's legal team in the Constitutional Court trial that confirmed Yoon's impeachment, Lee used his closing argument to speak of the fear he felt for his son, who was a conscript in the military. "The fact of emergency martial law itself filled me with fear, but the thought that my son might be deployed to enforce it was even more horrifying," he said. The civil suit, he says, is largely symbolic - one final rebuke of Yoon. It is why Lee gathered exactly 105 plaintiffs: the number of pro-Yoon legislators who boycotted his impeachment. And the asking sum of 100,000 won ($73) each? "I thought about keeping it at 10,000 won ($7.30), but that seemed like too little. My pride wouldn't let me," Lee said. "Obviously there isn't a formula for something like this, but 100,000 won just seemed more appropriate." The success rate of emotional damages claims against former presidents is not high. The closest example is a series of similar suits filed by South Korean citizens against Park in 2016. They sought 500,000 won ($364) per plaintiff. But the Supreme Court dismissed those claims in 2020, saying that "even if there were South Korean citizens who felt emotions like anger due to the defendant's actions, it cannot be said that this constituted a level of mental distress that necessitates compensation for every citizen." Still, Lee figures that his suit against Yoon has at least a marginally higher chance of success, given the far graver offense at hand. "The case against Park was related to corruption - it wasn't a case of the president unconstitutionally infringing on people's basic rights," he said. "The martial law forces actually went to the National Assembly and pointed their rifles at legislators and their staff. I do think that people's right to life was directly threatened." Some legal experts agree. "I am also curious whether this will work or not," said a judge in Seoul who requested anonymity to comment on an ongoing case. "Under current jurisprudence, I don't think it's entirely impossible." Given South Korea's history with authoritarianism, Lee argues, the claim to emotional distress isn't just courtroom theater. South Koreans lived under a dictatorship as recently as the 1980s. Political repression and violence are still part of the country's memory. The last declaration of martial law was made in May 1980 by the Chun Doo-hwan military junta, which sent special forces units to violently quash pro-democracy protests in the city of Gwangju. More than 160 civilians were killed, many of them gunned down by soldiers in the streets. Lee, who is from Gwangju, remembers watching a tank roll down the street behind his house as a child. "The national trauma from those events led to a real and deep fear in many South Koreans," he said. Han Ki-chang, a real estate agent and one of the 105 plaintiffs, says that he suffered from "martial law insomnia." The term entered the popular vernacular in the last few months and has been covered by the national media as an anecdotal phenomenon, with some older South Koreans saying it stirred panicked memories of living under authoritarian rule. "It was real. I had trouble sleeping in January and February," Han said. "And I could tell I wasn't the only one. Whenever I'd message people or post in a group chat in the middle of the night, a lot of people would respond, saying they needed to sleep but couldn't." At least one other group is preparing their own emotional damages lawsuit against the former president. Lee, the attorney, expects that there will be even more suits because he has been sending out copies of his complaint to anyone who wants it. They can just fill in their names and file their own. "If we win this case, that might make it possible for all 52 million South Korean citizens to claim damages," he said. He quickly did the math: at $7.30 per person, a total of $380 million. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
