Judge Overturns Adnan Syed’s 1999 Murder Conviction, Subject Of The ‘Serial’ Podcast

Adnan Syed was released on Monday after 23 years in prison.

In 2000, Syed was convicted on charges of murdering Hae Min Lee, his former high school girlfriend. After over two decades of fighting, he was finally freed from prison.

Lee’s body was found buried in a park in Baltimore in 1999. Syed firmly maintained his innocence and questioned the fairness of the trial.

The popular podcast Serial brought his story to public attention 14 years later.

In 2014, Sarah Koening‘s team began investigating the case for their podcast. The show added a number of witness interviews, courtroom recordings and new information about his lawyer, who was disbarred for wrongdoing in 2001 and died in 2004, examining the case in detail in 12 episodes.

His conviction wasn’t vacated until this Monday. Prosecutors said in a Baltimore City Circuit Court motion that they have uncovered the possible involvement of two alternative suspects and key evidence they failed to disclose to Syed’s lawyers.

However, prosecutors also said that they were not claiming that Syed is innocent. They are still waiting for further DNA analysis.

The judge gave them 30 days before deciding either to proceed with a new trial or drop the case.