Adnan Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, which was featured in the hit Serial podcast, should be vacated, say Baltimore prosecutors.
Following a yearlong investigation conducted alongside his defence team, the state’s attorney for Baltimore City says that new evidence has emerged, including the possible involvement of two alternative suspects.
In the court filing, prosecutors say there is evidence that two suspects may have been involved, either together or separately.
Prosecutors state that the suspects, who are not named in the court papers, were known to investigators during the first probe but were not properly ruled out.
In a motion filed on Wednesday, prosecutors are asking for Mr Syed to receive a fresh trial, while not stating that they believe him to be innocent, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“However, for all the reasons set forth below, the State no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction,” stated the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in the court filing.
Prosecutors are recommending that Mr Syed be released from prison on his own recognisance as the investigation continues, according to the report.
Mr Syed, who has strongly maintained his innocence, was serving a life sentence following his conviction in 2000 for the strangling of his ex-girlfriend. He was 17 years old at the time of her killing and was tried as an adult.
“Given the stunning lack of reliable evidence implicating Mr Syed, coupled with increasing evidence pointing to other suspects, this unjust conviction cannot stand,” Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, Mr Syed’s attorney and Director of the Innocence Project Clinic said in a statement.
“Mr Syed is grateful that this information has finally seen the light of day and looks forward to his day in court.”
The 2014 Serial podcast and a subsequent HBO documentary have raised questions about his conviction, and in 2018 he was granted a new trial by a special appeals court.
But in 2019 that decision was thrown out by Maryland’s Court of Appeals, the highest one in the state.
The court filing states that during the reexamination of the case, prosecutors found a document in the state’s case file from a witness who said that one of the other suspects had publicly threatened Lee.
The suspect said “he would make her [Ms. Lee] disappear. He would kill her,” according to the motion. That document was never given to Mr Syed’s lawyers, the filing states.
