Wrongful Incarceration of Adnan Syed

            The murder case for eighteen year old Hae Min Lee is full of many holes and facts that just do not add up. This makes the whole case and situation more interesting because it is difficult for someone to take a side in it. In fact, the case was so interesting that a twelve episode podcast called “Serial” hosted by Sarah Koenig was created to further analyze the outcome of the case. Even through years of research and investigation, Sarah Koenig herself was not able to come up with a conclusion. This is because there were still many questions to be answered regarding the case. There is a sufficient amount of information to prove or refute Adnan Syed’s guilt, but I believe that Adnan Syed is indeed innocent. 

https://www.eonline.com/news/923968/serial-s-adnan
-syed-to-get-new-trialcourt-upholds-decision-overturning-murder-conviction

On January 13, 1999, eighteen year old Hae Min Lee went missing from Baltimore County and was later found dead and buried in Leakin Park a month later. Her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed who was seventeen was eventually sent to prison after being seen as the prime suspect of her murder. However, not enough evidence was presented to show that Adnan Syed actually murdered Hae Min Lee.

I believe that the first reason why Adnan Syed is innocent is because there was not enough evidence presented to show that Adnan actually executed the murder of Hae Min Lee. From the start of his trial, Adnan maintained the same story pleading to the authorities that he was innocent. “I have maintained my innocence from the beginning” (Syed). In addition, Rabia Chaudry who is a friend of Adnan and the author of the book “Adnan’s Story: The Search for the Truth and Justice After Serial” told the Baltimore Sun that she believes that the police and prosecutors made conclusion to the case based off on Adnan’s Muslim heritage. Therefore, due to this discrimination authorities were not able to find clear evidence that Adnan murdered Hae Min Lee or let alone had an abusive past. Many people believed that since Adnan was a Muslim, he had the potential to do such a crime.

http://beehivebugle.com/2014/12/17/fans-of-serial-brace-for-host-sarah-koenig-t
o-propose-marriage-to-adnan-syed-in-prison-during-the-final-episode/

Sarah Koenig, the host of the “Serial” podcast was able to speak to a former classmate of Syed and Hae whose name was McClain Chapman. She claimed that she had seen Adnan at the Woodlawn library in Baltimore during the day of the murder. Unfortunately, her testimony was not heard in Adnan Syed’s 2000 trial. However, her testimony could have been one of the key pieces in proving Adnan Syed’s innocence. Chief Judge Patrick L. Woodward wrote that it was plausible to think that Chapman’s testimony would have raised “reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror”, which could have changed the outcome of the trial.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/
crime/bs-md-ci-adnan-syed-ruling-20171205-story.html

Finally, I believe that Adnan Syed is innocent because of the inconsistent story told by a key witness named Jay Wilds. In episode nine of the “Serial” Podcast, Sarah Koenig points out that Jay first said that Adnan called Jay to come pick him up and showed Adnan showed Jay Hae Min Lee’s body at a drug spot. However, he later changed his story by saying that Adnan called Jay from a payphone at Best Buy and showed him the body there, but later investigation showed that there was no payphone at the Best Buy parking lot to begin with. Therefore, the false and inconsistent evidence from Jay showcases that there is no proof to support that Adnan Syed murdered Hae Min Lee.

Overall, I feel that Adnan Syed did not commit the murder of Hae Min Lee due to not having a fair case with enough evidence and due to the discrimination of authority because of his religious ethnicity. To this day, Adnan Syed is still in jail waiting to be proven innocent, but luckily, he was granted a new trial in March 2018.

Sources:

Thttp://beehivebugle.com/2014/12/17/fans-of-serial-brace-for-host-sarah-koenig-to-propose-marriage-to-adnan-syed-in-prison-during-the-final-episode/kacik, Christina. “Who Is Adnan Syed? Here's What You Need to Know about the Case Chronicled by 'Serial' Podcast.” Baltimoresun.com, 14 May 2018, www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-who-is-adnan-syed-20180329-story.html.

“Season One.” Serial, serialpodcast.org/season-one.