Adnan Syed will not serve more prison time for Hae Min Lee's murder, judge rules
Adnan Syed will not spend any additional time in prison after being resentenced for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a case that gained national attention when it was featured in the "Serial" podcast in 2014, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer made the ruling more than a week following a Feb. 26 hearing.
Syed's resentencing hearing was 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. Syed was 17 at the time of Lee's murder and served more than 20 years in prison after he was convicted in 2000.
He will be on probation for five years.
Syed, now 43, has been out of prison since 2022 after his original conviction was vacated. It was later reinstated amid a series of legal challenges.
The years-long legal battle involved a murder conviction, 20 years behind bars for Syed, his eventual release and several court appeals.
The murder of Hae Min Lee
Syed was convicted in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and high school classmate Hae Min Lee. Both Syed and Lee attended Woodlawn High School in Baltimore.
Lee went missing during her senior year in January 1999, and her body was found weeks later in Baltimore's Leakin Park.
Syed was 17 at the time.
During a six-week trial, prosecutors argued that Syed planned Lee's murder after she broke up with him. According to attorneys and witnesses, Syed strangled Lee to death, then he and a friend disposed of her body in a shallow grave.
Syed was convicted of murder, kidnapping and false imprisonment and was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
"Serial" podcast changes public perception
In 2014, the true-crime podcast "Serial" explored Syed's case in its first season. The podcast, which had millions of listeners at the time, raised questions about the evidence and witnesses in the trial.
The podcast raised doubts about one of the prosecution's key witnesses, a drug dealer named Jay Wilds, who claimed he was the one who helped Syed bury Lee's body.
It also explored the effectiveness of Syed's attorney, who was later disbarred. The podcast further questioned why another student, who could have provided an alibi for Syed, was never interviewed by his lawyer or asked to testify.
"Serial" fans donated more than $80,000 to Syed's legal fund.
Fight for retrial
In 2015, a Maryland appeals court said they would review Syed's murder conviction.
His new attorney argued that Syed's former attorney Christina Gutierrez failed to interview Syed's classmate Asia McClain who said she was with him in a library around the time of Lee's death.
In a letter to Syed after his arrest, McClain offered to speak with investigators and mentioned two other witnesses who she said saw Syed in the library.
"It is hard to imagine that Gutierrez could have done anything worse than failing to pick up the phone and call Syed's witness," Syed's appeals attorney wrote in a filing.
By the end of 2015, a judge agreed to reopen Syed's case and in 2016, his conviction was vacated and he was granted a new trial.
The state continued to fight the decision for about two years, reinstating Syed's conviction in 2019, and leading his lawyers to file an Amicus Brief at the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the brief, Syed's defense team argued that the Maryland Court of Appeals' decision to reinstate his murder conviction "will impact criminal defendants and, in particular, habeas petitioners, far beyond Maryland's borders."
The Supreme Court declined to hear Syed's case.
Motion to vacate conviction
After the Juvenile Restoration Act passed in 2021, Syed's defense team approached former Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and requested that his sentence be reviewed.
The Juvenile Restoration Act allowed individuals who were convicted of crimes committed while they were minors to request a modified sentence after they served at least 20 years in prison.
Mosby ordered additional DNA tests with forensic technology that was not available at the time of the initial investigation and trial.
In 2022, Mosby filed a motion to vacate Syed's murder conviction after tests found trace levels of male DNA under Lee's fingernails and on her shirt.
"The swabs from the right fingernail and shirt were then analyzed with a genotyping kit that targets male Y-chromosome STR DNA," Mosby's office said in a motion. "However, no useful typing results were obtained from this analysis."
The new investigation revealed evidence against two unnamed suspects and revealed that Lee's car was parked behind the home of one of the suspects, according to the motion.
Syed was released from prison in September 2022 after a judge vacated his murder conviction; he spent more than 20 years incarcerated.
Shortly after, prosecutors dropped the charges against him when DNA tests excluded him as a suspect in the murder.
Conviction reinstated, appeal moves forward
Hae Min Lee's family filed an appeal to reverse the decision. After several attempts, a court ruled the appeal could move forward.
Five months after Syed was freed from prison and cleared of charges, his murder conviction was reinstated.
His defense team brought the case to the Maryland Supreme Court and his conviction was put on hold as they decided whether to hear his appeal.
As the case dragged on through 2023, exonerees expressed support for Syed and Lee's family and called on the court to hear the case.
In 2024, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld a decision to reinstate Syed's conviction, sending the case back to a lower court.
By the end of 2024, Syed's attorneys requested a reduced sentence. Syed remained out of prison since being released in 2022.
As the court considered resentencing in 2025, Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates withdrew a motion to vacate Syed's conviction, leaving his murder conviction in place.
Bates said his predecessor, Mosby's motion to vacate was based on "false and misleading statements that undermine the integrity of the judicial process."
"While I did not ask for this task, it was remanded to my office by the Supreme Court of Maryland; thus, we have a duty as Maryland-barred attorneys, prosecutors tasked with pursuing justice, and officers of the Court to address false and misleading statements in the State's legal filings - a duty that we take extremely seriously," Bates added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 Kellam High students accused of racial harassment sue principal for defamation
VIRGINIA BEACH — On the morning of March 12, a group of Kellam High School friends got together at their usual gathering spot outside the school. It was one friend's birthday, and they celebrated by giving him presents before classes began. The gifts included a birthday card with handwritten notes, some candy and a bag of fried chicken. Videos later obtained from school surveillance cameras showed the group hugging and laughing after the gift exchange, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. A teacher who witnessed the interaction told Kellam Principal Ryan Schubert about it a shortly afterwards, the lawsuit said. The concern: The three boys offering the fried chicken were white, while the one receiving it was Black, suggesting that the act may have been a play on an old and racist stereotype about Blacks and fried chicken. Soon, the students were brought in for questioning. They told school officials it was all just a joke. The teen celebrating his birthday also told them he thought the gift was funny, and said he'd even asked his friends to give him fried chicken for his birthday, the lawsuit said. Police and prosecutors were notified, but determined no crime had been committed, according to the claim. Within hours, representatives of the NAACP, school board and community members were contacting the school. The next day, Schubart authorized an email to all parents that described the incident as 'racist harassment' and said the students, who weren't named in the email, would be disciplined 'to the fullest extent possible,' the lawsuit said. Local TV reports soon followed. That was the last day the three teens attended Kellam, and now they have filed a $10 million dollar lawsuit against Schubart in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. They were suspended from school and they claim that — as a result of the school email and the television stories that followed — they have repeatedly been threatened with bodily harm, stalked, hostilely confronted by strangers, and have suffered damage to their property. A spokesperson for Virginia Beach Public Schools, which is not named as a defendant, didn't immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Schubart couldn't be reached by The Pilot and no attorney was listed for him in online court records. The students who are suing are not named in the filing to protect them from further damage to their reputations, according to their attorney, Tim Anderson. Even though they weren't named in the email, other students and parents quickly figured out who they were, Anderson said. All three have been homeschooled since their suspension, and do not plan to return to Kellam next year even though they've been told they can, he said. 'The actions of Ryan Schubart were reckless, defamatory and an outright betrayal of the trust placed in a school principal,' the lawyer said in a message to The Pilot. 'Mr. Schubart knowingly spread false allegations against minor students — branding them as racists in a narrative he manufactured to appease political pressure. His email to the school community not only disregarded the truth but also destroyed the reputations and futures of innocent children.' Schubart knew the boy receiving the gift was friends with the others, and wasn't offended by the gift, yet left that out in investigative reports, the lawsuit said. He also failed to view the video or conduct a reasonable investigation before taking action, the complaint said. And a claim in the email that a teacher 'immediately intervened' when they saw the incident occurring was proven false by the video, Anderson said. The students' long-term suspension has put their academic futures in jeopardy, according to the claim, and their rights to due process were denied when they weren't given a fair and impartial disciplinary hearing. Jane Harper,
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Disgraced pastor turns down year offer and now faces a jury, life in prison
Eric Readon, a controversial Miami Gardens pastor arrested three years ago on charges of stealing an elderly man's Northwest Miami-Dade home, turned down a plea deal from the state Wednesday and now could spend the rest of his life in prison. By turning down the state's offer of a year in prison and a decade of probation, Readon, 49, could end up behind bars from anywhere between six years to more than six decades, for the crimes he is accused of committing. Before Readon decided to leave his fate in jurors' hands, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez warned the pastor of the vast gulf between the state's offer and a guilty verdict. 'This is your life,' Hernandez said. 'It's a decision you have to make with the consultation of your lawyer.' Readon, who has been out of jail since his February 2022 arrest, quickly left the court hearing, his attorney at his side. Hernandez set a trial date for July 7. The pastor is accused of swindling retiree Edward Fuller out of his $267,000 home on Northwest 19th Avenue. The scheme, state prosecutors said, involved Readon guaranteeing a loan to refurbish the home in exchange for the senior signing over the deed to the property and paying Readon a $15,000 fee. Readon is facing charges of exploitation of an elderly or disabled person, organized scheme to defraud, conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud, theft from a person 65 years or older, and grand theft. The disgraced pastor — who court records show served probation for strong-armed robbery and grand theft over two decades ago — led New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church in Northwest Miami-Dade. He made a name for himself fighting gun violence, often showing up at rallies and seen comforting grieving family members. A call to the church Wednesday said the number had been disconnected. According to WPLG-Channel 10, Readon reached a plea deal last month with the Broward State Attorney's Office over allegations that he also fraudulently stole properties in Davie and Lauderdale Lakes. The Davie property was worth $1.7 million. As part of the deal in which he avoided admitting guilt but agreed to a punishment, Readon paid one of the property owners $150,000 and the other $46,500. He also agreed to complete community control, five years of probation, and to repay all restitution before he can be considered for early termination of probation. Both victims won back their properties after legal battles. Readon was also arrested in April in Pembroke Pines. Charging documents say he used false paperwork in a wire transfer when he bought a Range Rover from Miami's Braman Motors. The case was later closed. Though the state prosecutor indicated Wednesday that if Readon didn't agree to the plea offer, the stolen vehicle charge could resurface.
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Oakland business looted, vehicle set on fire hours after peaceful anti-ICE protest ended
Two businesses in Oakland's Fruitvale district were reeling Wednesday morning after a group of people allegedly looted a shoe store following a peaceful anti-ICE protest Tuesday night. One person was arrested on suspicion of stealing merchandise, police said. A crowd ransacked a Shiekh shoe store near International Boulevard and 34th Avenue on Tuesday night, according to videos reported by KTVU and police. A car parked on 34th Avenue was set on fire, and trash cans on the sidewalk were knocked over, spilling garbage onto the sidewalk. The looting and vehicle fire occurred after a peaceful protest denouncing arrests of immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had ended, according to businesses owners and Fruitvale residents. Oakland police said officers responded to a car crash at 34th Avenue and International Boulevard at 8:40 p.m., where 'several people threw objects at the officers' and damaged a police vehicle. No officers were injured, police said. People then set the crashed vehicle on fire. An hour later, around 9:30 p.m., officers were called to the 3400 block of International Boulevard for a report of a business that was burglarized. Approximately 30 people ransacked the Shiekh store, police said. An unidentified person was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen merchandise and a burglary tool. 'Looting and violence in any form or the destruction of property will not be tolerated in the city of Oakland,' Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement. 'To the business owners, we are committed to accountability, safety and protecting the well-being of our communities. Our commitment to peaceful protest does not extend to rioting, or the destruction of property,' Lee said. On Wednesday morning, workers inside the Shiekh store were cleaning up the mess left behind. Clothing racks were empty and merchandise and shards of glass from the shattered front door were sprawled on the floor. The store's manager declined to be interviewed. Next door, Deep Singh, owner of Oakland Discount Liquor and Market, arrived to find his garbage cans knocked over and trash spread on the sidewalk in front of his business. 'It's a mess,' he said. 'Who wants to walk into a store (like that) now?' Some businesses on East 12th Street, in front of Fruitvale Village where the protest was held, remained boarded up Wednesday morning. None appeared to be burglarized. Norma Orozco, the communications manager at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, said she returned to the nonprofit's headquarters at International Boulevard and 34th Avenue at about 8 p.m. after the protest ended and saw an abandoned vehicle that had crashed into a parked car on 34th Avenue. Neighbors moved the car from the crosswalk to the side of the road. She said nearby police officers did not immediately respond to the scene of the crash and fire. About an hour later, groups of people tried breaking into the car and later set the car on fire, she said. Firefighters responded and put the fire out, but the vehicle was later set on fire again, Orozco said. 'Everything that happened last night was completely preventable,' she said. 'There were multiple points of intervention, and there were multiple people who saw this happening and not a single step was taken to prevent this.' Victor Moreno, a Fruitvale resident, was walking his two dogs along International Boulevard on Wednesday morning when he stopped to observe the workers cleaning inside the Shiekh store. Moreno said he saw black smoke from his apartment window at about 8 p.m. after arriving home from the protest. He said the demonstration was peaceful. 'What I'm afraid of is that people will start to blame the protesters for what happened,' Moreno said in Spanish, referring to the alleged looting. Singh, the liquor store owner, said he supported the ICE protests and did not believe demonstrators took any part in the destruction. . 'I don't think you should hurt the business owners that are supplying you in the community,' he said.
