Prosecutors dropped all charges against Adnan Syed on Tuesday, after he spent more than 20 years behind bars.
Baltimore prosecutors dismissed the charges against Syed after DNA testing of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee’s clothing excluded him as a suspect, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Adnan Syed in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee, a case that was chronicled in the hit true-crime podcast “Serial,” the Balitmore Sun reported. https://t.co/p63gJShCZ8
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 11, 2022
“This case is over,” Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said, according to the AP. “There are no more appeals necessary.”
Syed was freed from prison last month when a Baltimore judge overturned his murder conviction, the AP reported. The judge said that the state was wrong in refusing to share evidence favorable to Syed.
“Today’s the day that Adnan Syed and his loved ones have been waiting for 23 long years,” Syed’s attorney Erica Suter said, the outlet reported. “The results of the DNA testing excluded Adnan and confirm what Adnan and his supporters have always known: that Adnan Syed is innocent. The state of Maryland has dropped the charges. Adnan Syed is free.”
Lee’s family asked the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to intervene and halt the case but did not challenge his release, the AP reported. (RELATED: Adnan Syed Of ‘Serial’ Will Bring Bid For New Trial To The Supreme Court)
“The family received no notice and their attorney was offered no opportunity to be present at the proceeding,” Attorney Steve Kelly said, AP reported.
“By rushing to dismiss the criminal charges, the State’s Attorney’s Office sought to silence Hae Min Lee’s family and to prevent the family and the public from understanding why the State so abruptly changed its position of more than 20 years. All this family ever wanted was answers and a voice,” Kelly added, according to the outlet. “Today’s actions robbed them of both.”
Syed’s story became the subject of the popular podcast, “Serial.” In August 2019, he asked the United States Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals denying his request for a new trial.