'Adnan Is Out': things we learnt in the new episode of 'Serial'

From new suspects to legal violations, the podcast summed up the progress of the famous Adnan Syed case with a new episode

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  Adnan Syed smiles and waves as he leaves the courthouse after a judge overturned his 2000 murder conviction and ordered a new trial in Baltimore, Maryland. Reuters

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  Mr Syed's mother, Shamim Syed, hugs a supporter after her son was released. Reuters

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  Erica Suter, director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law and Mr Syed's lawyer, speaks outside the courthouse. AFP

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  A US judge on September 19 threw out the conviction after Mr Syed served more than 20 years in prison for his ex-girlfriend's murder. Reuters

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  State's Attorney for Baltimore Marilyn Mosby is embraced by Ms Syed after a judge overturned the 2000 murder conviction of her son. Reuters

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  The case was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial. AP

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  Ms Mosby is embraced by a supporter after the judge overturned the murder conviction. Reuters

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  Lawyer Chris Flohr embraces podcaster Sarah Koenig. Reuters

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  Mr Syed was convicted of the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. EPA

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  Mr Syed is a free man after serving 20 years in prison. EPA

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  Mr Syed always maintained his innocence and said he did not kill Lee. EPA

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  Prosecutors told a judge that they had found new information on two other people potentially involved in the murder. Reuters

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  Supporters gather outside the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouse. Reuters

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  Catina Carter wears a T-shirt reading '#FreeAdnan' outside the courthouse. Reuters

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  Mr Syed spent 20 years behind bars for Lee's murder. AP

A new episode of Serial has been released, the hit podcast that first shone a light on Adnan Syed’s case in 2014.

Hosted by journalist Sarah Koenig, the popularity of the podcast created renewed interest in the case of the Pakistani-American Syed, who was 18 when he was found guilty of the murder of his high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a crime he was accused of committing at age 17.

Twenty-three years on, Syed, now 41, is out of prison, and the podcast played a pivotal role. The day after his release, a special episode of the podcast was released, a 13th episode for the first season, titled Adnan Is Out.

Adnan Syed, centre right, leaves the courthouse after the hearing on September 19. AP

Here is what we learnt:

1. Syed is not officially an innocent man

While Syed is out of prison for now, his sentencing has not been entirely overturned.

“The prosecutors today are not saying Adnan is innocent, they stop short of exonerating him,” Koenig says. “Instead they’re saying, ‘Back in 1999, we didn’t investigate this case thoroughly enough.’”

Prosecutors have 30 days from Syed’s release to decide if they intend to pursue a new trial against him.

2. A new Maryland law plays a major role

Adnan Syed as a teenager, when he was convicted of the murder of Hae Min Lee. Photo: Serial

Last year, a new law came into effect in Maryland, the Juvenile Restoration Act. One element of the law dictates that anyone who has served 20 years in prison for a crime committed as a juvenile can petition for a reduced sentence.

The law came into effect on October 1, and the following day Syed’s current lawyer Erica Suter took his case to the Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office.

The request was taken to Becky Feldman, the chief of the sentencing review unit for the prosecutor’s office, who is a key player in the progress in Syed’s ongoing legal battles, and therefore the episode.

Feldman reviews the case, going over original evidence, but Koenig explains had “a hard time answering what should be a simple question, ‘What’s Adnan Syed’s level of culpability in this crime?’”

3. There are two unnamed new suspects

One of the major revelations in the podcast and Feldman’s findings are two more suspects, who were known to the police in 1999.

They are not named in the podcast, but are known to Koenig, who explains that both suspects were named by witnesses in 1999. One suspect has a motive; they were heard saying they would "make her disappear.”

At the time, one suspect was investigated and underwent a polygraph test, the other was looked into “but not vigorously”.

“Baltimore City Police say they will assign someone back on to the case and that they will try to talk to the two suspects identified by Feldman,” Koenig says.

4. The Brady violation is explained

Back in 1999, the two suspects were never named to the defence. This is a legal misdemeanour known as a Brady violation, which has played a role in the state’s motion to vacate Syed’s conviction.

At trial, this generally “occurs when a prosecutor fails to provide a defendant or criminal defence attorneys with any evidence that is favourable or helpful to a defendant’s case,” according to Shouse Law Group.

Podcaster Sarah Koenig, the creator of 'Serial', is seen behind Maryland state's attorney for Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby, after a judge overturned Syed's conviction and set him free pending a new trial. Reuters

5. The mobile phone evidence has been deemed unreliable

In the episode, it is revealed that Feldman has deemed the mobile phone evidence as unreliable. This evidence, along with the evidence from Syed’s friend Jay Wilds, was a large part of the case against Syed.

This was a major part of the original series, digging into the ways that the mobile phone and mast evidence could have proven Syed’s whereabouts or guilt, but Feldman spoke to three experts on the matter.

The three experts all “agreed, you can’t use the incoming call records to back-up Jay’s narrative, it doesn’t work like that.”

6. The detectives are called into question

Another key revelation is that one of two main detectives on the case, Bill Ritz, was accused of misconduct in another murder case that went to trial the same year Syed’s did.

Ritz was accused of manipulating and fabricating evidence, not disclosing exculpatory evidence and not following up on evidence that pointed to a different suspect. In 2016, the person convicted in that case was exonerated.

7. The podcast ends on a hopeful but pragmatic note

“Adnan’s case was a mess, is a mess,” Koenig says frankly. She speaks about the work of his childhood friend Rabia Chaudry, the lawyer who brought Syed’s case to Koenig’s attention for the original series.

She ends the podcast with a fairly damning assessment of parts of the US legal system.

“Adnan’s case contains just about every chronic problem our system can cough up. Police using questionable interview methods, prosecutors keeping crucial evidence from the defence, slightly junky science, extreme prison sentences, juveniles treated as adults, how grindingly difficult it is to get your case back in court once you’ve been convicted,” Koenig says.

“Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about fairness, but most of what the state put in that motion to vacate, all the actual evidence, was either known or knowable to cops or prosecutors back in 1999. So even on a day when the government publicly recognises its own mistakes, it’s hard to feel cheered about a triumph of fairness, because we’ve built a system that takes more than 20 years to self-correct, and that’s just this one case.”