Prosecutors Agree to New DNA Testing in Murder Case at the Center of ‘Serial’

Prosecutors in Maryland have consented to a request by Adnan Syed to conduct new DNA checks on proof used to convict him of the 1999 homicide of Hae Min Lee, a case that intrigued many People when it was featured on the hit podcast “Serial.”

In a movement filed on Thursday within the Circuit Court docket for Baltimore Metropolis, prosecutors mentioned that extra forensic testing that had been requested by Mr. Syed was merited in his case due to advances in genetic profiling.

The movement was filed collectively by prosecutors in Baltimore and a lawyer for Mr. Syed, who’s serving a life sentence within the killing of Ms. Lee. The physique of Ms. Lee, a highschool classmate who as soon as dated Mr. Syed, was present in a park in Baltimore County. Mr. Syed was 17 on the time.

Mr. Syed, 40, has steadfastly maintained his innocence. An appeals courtroom vacated his conviction in 2018, ruling that he had obtained ineffective authorized counsel, however Maryland’s highest courtroom overturned that call in 2019.

Final yr, he requested prosecutors to overview his sentence underneath a brand new legislation that took impact in Maryland. The legislation provides prosecutors discretion to switch sentences of offenders who had been underneath 18 on the time of their crimes and have served a minimum of 20 years in jail.

That course of sometimes doesn’t contain a renewed examination of DNA proof, based on these aware of the case.

“Within the technique of reviewing this case for a doable resentencing, it grew to become clear that extra forensic testing — which was not accessible on the time of the unique investigation and trial on this case — could be an acceptable avenue to pursue,” Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore Metropolis state’s legal professional, mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.

The transfer comes practically three years after forensic checks had been performed as a part of an HBO documentary sequence following up on the case. These checks, whereas unofficial, didn’t discover any traces of Mr. Syed’s DNA on the various samples taken from Ms. Lee’s physique and automotive throughout the authentic investigation.

Prosecutors and Mr. Syed’s lawyer are actually looking for a choose’s order to have an unbiased lab check DNA proof that was discovered on Ms. Lee’s physique. It was not instantly clear how these checks relate to those performed for the documentary.

Ms. Mosby declined to remark additional on the case, which she characterised as a pending investigation.

Erica J. Suter, director of the Innocence Challenge Clinic and a lawyer for Mr. Syed, recommended prosecutors for his or her willingness to contemplate new proof.

“Mr. Syed has been ready greater than twenty years for the chance to exonerate himself, not simply within the courtroom of public opinion, however within the courtroom of legislation,” Ms. Souter mentioned in an announcement. “We applaud the state’s legal professional for recognizing the intense issues in his case, after a number of months of deliberation and overview, and agreeing that DNA testing is required. We’re desperate to lastly have entry to the forensic instruments to determine Mr. Syed’s innocence.”

Specializing in whether or not Mr. Syed obtained a good trial, “Serial” made its debut in 2014. The sequence was downloaded greater than 175 million occasions and gained a Peabody Award.

In 2020, The New York Occasions Firm purchased Serial Productions, the corporate behind the podcast, bringing the storytelling big into The Occasions’s rising portfolio of digital journalism.