Serial

My own "no basis in evidence, pure speculation" addition - I kind of suspect that some of the ambiguities in the prosecution's case is because Jay isn't being forthcoming with his full role. I don't think he did it, but I do think he could have been involved more actively in the crime and cover-up.

 

Jay had no motive. There's no reason for him to murder the girl.
One person in this case had an intimate relationship with the victim.
All of the speculation about other suspects is much more insubstantial than the evidence that was used to convict Adnan.

 

Can't believe it's been 3.5 years since the podcast premiered.

 

HBO Announces 'The Case Against Adnan Syed' Docuseries

 

Oh boy:

Adnan Syed Murder Conviction Should Be Vacated, Prosecutors Say

tl;dr - If I'm understanding correctly, in March 2022, Adnan's lawyers found 2 potential suspects that weren't ruled out by police, but info wasn't shared with defense. Relative of one of the suspects lives near where the victim's car was found. One of the suspects, after this case went through trial and what not, was convicted of sexual assault. The whisperings are now that there's probably a DNA match in the case, if Maryland is going through with essentially releasing Adnan.

 

I have read several stories on today's filing, none of which answers a couple of basic questions:
1) Can the Court put an end to it by dismissing with prejudice or whatever term applies in criminal cases, thereby precluding the state from retrying the defendant?
2) How can the Court not do so in light of a filing in which the State says it's not sure the verdict was fair?
3) Any idea on a timetable?
4) What does it mean to file paperwork with the Circuit Court? Who determines this issue? One judge? Circuit Court is apparently not an appellate panel.

 

I'm following a twitter feed from the court hearing today. Lawyer for the deceased's family is arguing not enough prior notice was given to allow them proper time to prepare remarks. Victim's brother is in CA and maybe "planned" on participating via zoom but wasn't on when preceding began. So the judge told that lawyer to leave and call the brother to see if he wanted to participate. The lawyer returned and said the brother was at work but could be available in 30 minutes, so the judge recessed until 3:15.

 

The phrase "conviction overturned" is an interesting one to me. Definition of overturn: "abolish, invalidate or reverse." In a legal context, it's a curious choice of words because those three terms aren't the same. Abolish and invalidate leave room for retrial, but reverse suggests guilty becomes not guilty, which means you can't retry.
The Sun nailed the lead in its live online story: "Adnan Syed, a Baltimore man whose legal saga spawned the hit podcast "Serial," is a free and innocent man. For now."

 

I doubt they retry. In (loosely) following the twitter feed from the reporter on scene, it seems the prosecution did the heavy lifting to get the conviction overturned. The defense kind of chipped in "Yeah, what she said." The prosecution mantra seemed to be "justice over conviction", and used most of the last prosecution's compelling arguments as either invalid, or suspect. I would assume that also means they're pretty tight on new evidence pointing at a new killer.

 

I've always thought he was not guilty, so this might hit me differently. But I can't imagine this guy's life tonight. No echoing doors slammed. No one shouting. No guard doing rounds. Twenty three years. And a soft bed and silence. That might be enough to drive a man mad.