Adnan Syed was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae min Lee, in 1999. Adnan has spent the last fifteen years in - and is still in- the North Branch Correctional Institution. There is just one problem; Adnan Syed is not guilty.
There’s a clear lack of incriminating evidence; no DNA or fingerprint directly linking Adnan to the murder and no video showing Adnan at the scene of the crime when it is said to have been committed. This was not because of any lack of effort on the state’s part; in building a case against Adnan, investigators compared dirt samples from where Hae’s body was found to dirt found on Adnan’s boots, checked for fingerprints both where the body was buried and in Hae’s car, and tried to match DNA and clothing fibers. But all tests came to the same conclusion; there is no hard evidence linking Adnan to the murder.
Lack of evidence, by itself, might not be enough to prove he is innocent. The prosecutors know that they do not have anything that directly links Adnan to any
The one thing the prosecutors are able to dig up is that he may have lied to his parents. Being a second generation immigrant, the prosecutors assume Adnan led this ‘double-life’ that so many other immigrants’ children seem live. Lying to his parents because not all of his activities follow their religion and lying to his friends because they may not understand every aspect of his lifestyle. But everyone lies to their parents and you don’t expect a Jewish girl to explain kosher to everyone she meets. Instead of questioning Adnan’s character it seems the prosecutors expose him as an outstanding citizen. An honor roll student, part of his school’s athletic programs, an active member in his family’s mosque, and on homecoming court; not quite the killing type. At the end of the trial Adnan’s credibility as an upstanding individual is still
On March 22 2009, 29 year old Anthony Zervas was bashed to death with a bollard by the national president of the Comanchero motorcycle gang, Mick Hawi at Terminal 3 in Sydney Airport. He was found guilty of murder and affray and was sentenced to 28 years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 years on May 2009.
First of all, if something monumental happens a person remembers the day it happened. In contrast, Adnan didn’t remember January 13. Yet, Jay remembers close to everything which points an arrow in his direction. However, Adnan says he didn’t ask Hae for a ride, but witnesses say he did. We can point that at Adnan for lying, but he may have failed
Can you imagine being convicted of first degree murder at only 17 years of age? Adnan Syed couldn't believe it either. In fact he was mortified when they charged him of brutally suffocating, his ex-girlfriend Hea Min Lee, to death. Adnan Syed was a pawn that the Baltimore detectives played with, a mere dupe to cast off as the true killer. Syed is like many Americans, he was never granted a fair trial. There is some actors that make Syed guilty, but perhaps it was just pure coincidence that got Adan wrapped up in this whole mess. One simply can't overlook the major factors that make him innocent enough to grant him a second trial. Adan has spent half of his life in prison, due to a wrongful conviction that happened many
When Rabia begins speaking of Adnan the sentence she leads with is that “He was like the community’s golden child”. By using this phrase, Rabia is connoting that he was considered perfect, which is a very bold statement to claim. After she elaborates upon her description Koenig later fact checks her “accolades” as any reporter would. She finds that Rabia “was mostly right, though she sometimes gets a little loosey-goosey with the details”. Rabia would have successfully convinced Koenig, as well as the listeners at hand, of Adnan’s reputation by simply describing him as a ‘boy with potential’ or as one ‘generally known to be respectable’ but by choosing to pronounce him a “golden child” specifically, she identifies him as impeccable, and thus incapable of committing a crime. Rabia personally knows that her descriptions are not entirely true, being that she was close with him, however, she still chooses to make use of them despite their inconsistencies. Not only does she go forth with them, but she chooses to falsely summarize him as a “golden child”, despite knowing that he was not in fact perfect. Rabia could have chosen to just state the facts as they really were, in the less
When a teenager is carrying a burden as Adnan was, probably feeling guilty for giving back to his parents, his religion and customs could transform him in another person for a few moments when he felt betrayed, humiliated, dishonored and abandoned by the person for whom he did all this. Then he kill Hae Min Lee in a rage 's attack or probably as Jay said Adnan was planning the murder in detail; that is why the police could not found enough evidences to probe him clearly
This reason makes sense because Asia and even a friend of hers claim that they saw and even spoke to Adnan that day and at that time Hae was murdered. This part of the story is when Asia found out Adna was arrested so she wrote him a letter explaining what she remembered about seeing him that day and time. This is from the letter “Im not sure if you remember talking to me in the library january 13’th,but I remember”. This means Adnan is innocent because he was not murdering Hae at the time he was at the library. Therefore Adnan is innocent because Asia’s letters prove that he was at the library at the time Hae was
I plan to use the defense that there was no crime committed in this case. This requires some proof that there was no way that the defendent could have committed the crime. The burden of proof that Archer did not commit the crime will have to move to the defense.
A month after she disappeared on January 13th, 1999, Hae Min Lee was found strangled in a park in Baltimore. Adnan was arrested for Hae’s murder because of the testimony of his friend, Jay. In his interview, Jay told the police that Adnan killed Hae, bragged about it, returned to track practice to make sure he had an
In this podcast Sarah explores and digs deep into the two options, is Adnan guilty? Or is Adnan innocent of his past? Adnan Syed should stay in jail and not be released from prison due to some main reasons that lean towards Adnan’s guilt. It didn’t seem like a healthy relationship should look like.
The case mentioned earlier is still in action. Nearly a decade later, Stanford is still fighting death row. He is now about 27 but should still be looked at as the same age he was when he was initially charged, 17.
The officers tampered with evidence and made a false discovery that he was the person and that is how he was convicted (Innocent Project N.D.). Many forensic methods have been implemented in research when looking for evidence, but the methods that are not scientific and have little or nothing to do with science. The result of false evidence by other means leads to false testimony by a forensic analyst. Another issue with forensic errors is that it is a challenge to find a defense expert (Giannelli, 2011).
...t his the evidence in front of a jury. Still believing in his innocence Jeff is filing for parole after fourteen years of eligibility. He is hoping to meet parole board criteria so he can be released on parole.
...t I do not think that the evidence presented is enough for a conviction to sentence any man or woman to death.
On January 11th 1982, Clifford Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder. For this he was sentenced to 11 concurrent life terms in prison.
He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 16 years, on the terms that “married women have the right to choose their own destiny” .