After nearly 23 years in prison, five appeals and a co-sign from reality TV star-turned-lawyer Kim Kardashian, Adnan Syed’s 2000 murder conviction has been overturned. The decision comes after a year-long case review had found two “alternative suspects” and subsequently concluded that he “deserves a new trial”.
Syed was sentenced to life in prison aged 19, after being accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and burying her body in the woods. The alleged murder was the subject of the 2014 global blockbuster podcast Serial, which is largely credited for spawning the cold-case investigative journalism trend in this medium. Hosted by American journalist Sarah Koenig, it was the fastest podcast in history to receive five million downloads, according to iTunes — with the 12 episodes now having been downloaded 320 million times. It turned a forgotten local US news story into a global spectacle, with many either contesting or confirming Syed’s guilt.
