BALTIMORE — Adnan Syed’s murder conviction will remain in place after Baltimore City prosecutors withdrew a motion to vacate the conviction Tuesday.
But a decision whether to reduce Syed’s sentence — something supported by the city’s prosecutor — remains up to a judge, who did not rule after a hearing in Baltimore on Wednesday.
Judge Jennifer Schiffer said that she would issue a written opinion later on whether to reduce Syed’s sentence. Schiffer said it was “not my intention to leave everyone waiting for too long.”
Syed, now 43, was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years after being convicted of murder in the killing of his former high school girlfriend, high school ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999.
Syed’s case was made famous by the hit podcast “Serial” in 2014, which raised questions about his conviction. Syed has had his conviction overturned twice, most recently in 2022 when he was freed from prison after serving 23 years. The state appeals court reinstated the conviction each time.
“I humbly request to remain free and build a meaningful life,” Syed, fighting back tears, told Schiffer at the end of Wednesday’s hearing.
Lee’s family remains opposed to any reduction in sentence, and said the facts of the killing remain unchanged.
“Adnan Syed stands convicted of premeditated murder and nothing these past 25 years changes that fact,” Lee family attorney David Sanford said last week in opposing a reduction.
The case has been through a number of court and prosecutorial decisions, including Tuesday evening when Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates withdrew the prosecution’s motion to vacate Syed’s conviction.
Prosecutor withdraws motion to vacate conviction
Bates said the motion, filed by his predecessor Marilyn Mosby, contained “false and misleading statements and unsubstantiated conclusions” that prosecutors allegedly failed to turn over evidence favorable to the defense at trial, known as a Brady violation.
Bates told “NBC Nightly News” in an exclusive interview Wednesday that he did not base his decision on whether Syed was guilty or not.
“One of the things I would say is that we stand behind the jury’s verdict,” he said, noting that based on the evidence, he would “no doubt” bring the case against Syed again today.
An attorney for Mosby said Mosby stands by the work of her office. “They found there were Brady violations and they disclosed it in their pursuit of justice,” Mosby’s attorney, Tiffany Alston, said Tuesday night.
Sanford, the Lee family attorney, called the withdrawal a victory.
“The State finally acknowledged what we had always suspected: there never was any new information that called into question the integrity of Adnan Syed’s conviction of pre-meditated murder, kidnapping and robbery,” he said.
Witnesses speak at Wednesday’s hearing
Wednesday’s hearing was about whether Syed should be resentenced, something allowed by a 2021 state law that permits people convicted of crimes as juveniles to have their sentences reviewed.
Syed was 17 when Lee, who was 18 at the time, was strangled and found buried in a shallow grave at a Baltimore park.
Syed’s brother, Yusuf Syed, told the court that his Adnan Syed always supported him and believed in him.
“He was always there,” he said, fighting back tears. “He taught me to keep going. If there is anything that I accomplished in my life it’s because he was supporting me.”
Other witnesses said Syed was devoted to his family, did his best to help others and never got in trouble in prison.
Two people who met Syed in prison spoke highly of him at Wednesday’s hearing, and Dr. Anita Boss, a Virginia-based psychologist, did a risk assessment for Syed and said he was connected to family and devoted to religion.
Members of Lee’s family spoke Wednesday of their grief, and how the 1999 killing robbed Lee of a future.
“Syed took away my ability to be an uncle,” Lee’s brother, Young Lee, said through tears. “I always dreamed of being an uncle to her kids, and spoil them. I don’t have a chance to see my sister walk down the aisle. He took that away from me.”
Lee’s mother, Youn Wha Kim, said her world collapsed when her daughter was killed.
“I was living in a prison without bars while Syed was living in a prison with bars,” she said in a statement read by a translator. “I had no will to live.”
Syed, who has maintained his innocence, addressed the court at the end of the hearing. He said he was grateful for being given a second chance, and does not want to cause any more pain to the Lee family.
“I promise to you that I will continue to live the life that I am trying to live,” Syed told Schiffer, the judge.
Schiffer concluded Wednesday’s hearing by acknowledging that Syed was given a second chance and has shown progress.
“But everyone needs to remember that Hae Min Lee never had the chance,” Schiffer said. “They are the true victims in this case.”
She did not say when she would issue a written opinion on resentencing.
The 1999 killing
Syed and Lee both attended Woodlawn High School and had dated, broken up, reunited and broken up again in a relationship an appeals court described as turbulent.
Lee disappeared on Jan. 13, 1999, and her strangled body was found buried in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park the following month.
Syed was arrested and charged in her killing. A first trial ended in a mistrial, but in a second in 2000 a jury convicted Syed of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment.
Advocates for Syed argued that the evidence used to convict him was unreliable and that police ignored leads pointing to other potential suspects.
Syed’s conviction was overturned by a circuit judge in 2016, who found that a failure by defense at his trial to challenge cell tower information warranted a new trial. Maryland’s appeals court reinstated the conviction in 2019.
In October 2022, a judge vacated Syed’s conviction for a second time after arguments by Mosby’s office, and Mosby said she was dropping the charges against him. Mosby, who lost re-election that year, said at the time that new DNA evidence supported his innocence.
Maryland’s appeals court in March 2023 reinstated the conviction, ruling that officials failed to provide sufficient notice for Lee’s family to attend the hearing. Syed was allowed to remain free as more proceedings were held.
Chloe Atkins reported from Baltimore and Phil Helsel from Los Angeles.
