Serial

[sgreenwell]

I felt like they didn't discuss it enough. After Serial was over, I heard or read that the new guy's (Don?) alibi - that he was at work - was corroborated by his manager...who happened to be his stepmother.

It's always dangerous to go down the Reddit rabbit hole, but I think the "Don did it!" truthers have to rely on way more leaps of logic than the Jay ones. - Putting the insane Serial Dynasty "theory" in perspective • /r/serialpodcast

 

[Killick]

I was in the "He probably did it, but there's not enough to convict" group. It did good job of pointing out a ****-poor defense and a half-assed job by cops, though.

 

[Double Down]

It's nuts to me that Jay got off so easily. He clearly participated, if not did the **** entirely. That people are just like "Meh, Jay. Adnan sounds guilty" is so weird. He knew where the body was. He was freaking out to co-workers about something. He is a bad bad dude.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

It's nuts to me that Jay got off so easily. He clearly participated, if not did the **** entirely. That people are just like "Meh, Jay. Adnan sounds guilty" is so weird. He knew where the body was. He was freaking out to co-workers about something. He is a bad bad dude.

Did you read this?
Exclusive: Jay, Key Witness from ‘Serial’ Tells His Story for First Time, Part 1

 

[sgreenwell]

It's nuts to me that Jay got off so easily. He clearly participated, if not did the **** entirely. That people are just like "Meh, Jay. Adnan sounds guilty" is so weird. He knew where the body was. He was freaking out to co-workers about something. He is a bad bad dude.

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.

 

[Buck]

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.

 

[Steak Snabler]

 

[Donny in his element]

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

 

[HC]

HBO will explore the murder case against Adnan Syed, whose conviction in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee was the focus of the hit podcast Serial, in an upcoming four-hour documentary series.

HBO Announces 'The Case Against Adnan Syed' Docuseries

 

[sgreenwell]

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.

 

[tapintoamerica]

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.

 

[tea and ease]

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.

 

[MileHigh]

 

[tapintoamerica]

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."

 

[tea and ease]

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.

 

[tea and ease]

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.

 

[sgreenwell]

There was about a 15-minute pod on the Serial feed today confirming much of what was in the WSJ story. Namely:

- The original case files had handwritten notes that identified two possible suspects, one of which who was never thoroughly investigated by police. However, neither were divulged to defense attorneys originally, which is a pretty clear violation. (Not that it'll justify his imprisonment, but this alone probably means Adnan is going to get a large settlement.)

- Koenig says she knows the names of the two suspects, but isn't going to release them because they haven't been charged. One has served time for sexual assaults, while one has family property close to where Lee's car was found.

- There is brief mention of "new" DNA advancements, but no match. This makes me think that they did some work with the familial / genome DNA that's been developed since the initial case though, i.e. the stuff that caught the Golden Gate killer. While they might not have a match now, given Adnan's unique DNA profile, it wouldn't surprise me if a more thorough analysis of the DNA evidence they had kind of rules him out.

- The D.A. noted that Jay's story continued to change, and after considering that and talking with three more cell phone experts, those records can't be used to corroborate and vice versa.

 

[qtlaw]

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.

He can ask the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, prior inmates who have been wrongly convicted in our country's history. Sad how much power the govt. has and what can come to bear from that power.

 

[Hot and Rickety]

David Simon of "The Wire" fame has spent his morning tweeting about these two (very, very long) articles, which pretty thoroughly take a bat to the notion that Adnan Syed is innocent, to Serial's journalistic standards, to Rabia Chaudry and to the Baltimore AG who set Syed free under laughably flimsy legal ground.

The Wrongful Exoneration of Adnan Syed Part I: A Straightforward Murder Case

The Wrongful Exoneration of Adnan Syed Part II: The Legal and Media Circus

I guess the author is a former defense attorney who has repped some death row cases and now writes freelance on crime. I had never heard of the website, but Syed's defenders are saying it's a right-wing pub. These stories seem down the middle, though. Simon, naturally, is having a field day.

 

[TigerVols]

David Simon of "The Wire" fame has spent his morning tweeting about these two (very, very long) articles, which pretty thoroughly take a bat to the notion that Adnan Syed is innocent, to Serial's journalistic standards, to Rabia Chaudry and to the Baltimore AG who set Syed free under laughably flimsy legal ground.

The Wrongful Exoneration of Adnan Syed Part I: A Straightforward Murder Case

The Wrongful Exoneration of Adnan Syed Part II: The Legal and Media Circus

I guess the author is a former defense attorney who has repped some death row cases and now writes freelance on crime. I had never heard of the website, but Syed's defenders are saying it's a right-wing pub. These stories seem down the middle, though. Simon, naturally, is having a field day.

That whole kit and kaboodle is interesting; thank you for flagging this.