On January 13th, 1999, a high school girl from Baltimore, Maryland, Hae Min Lee disappeared after school. Hae was found just a few miles away in Leakin Park, a few weeks later, where it was determined that the cause of death was manual strangulation. Not long after, Hae’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed was arrested and tried for her murder and is now spending life in prison. After hearing Sarah Koneig’s Podcast, Serial where she went back to re-investigate the trial it became clear that the jury does not have enough evidence to convict Adnan Syed for the murder of Hae Min Lee for many reasons including, the lack of evidence, lack of motive, and the reliance of memory is not enough to convict Adnan Syed.
Evidence is key to solving a murder and in the case of Hae Min Lee’s murder there was not enough evidence to prove that Adnan Syed killed her. There was several pieces of evidence that helped build the case, but none was enough to actually convict Adnan of murder. For instance, there was no DNA evidence that proved Adnan killed Hae. DNA evidence was found in Hae’s car that belonged to Adnan, but then again
Sarah even asked her own nephew, Sam to recall what he did on a specific night six weeks ago and he seemed very torn about his answer. Sam says, “Not a clue. In school, probably. Umm… actually I think I worked that day. Actually I don’t think I went to school that day.” Then Sam’s friend Elliot says, “I may have gone to the movies that night. I think I saw “22 Jump Street.” I went with Sam, Sean, Carter, a bunch of people.” By conducting this experiment Sarah was trying to show how it is very hard to remember events from days or even weeks before, especially if it is an ordinary day and there is nothing significant to remember like a big test, or a
When Hae Min Lee disappeared on January 13, 1999, all of her friends (including the subsequently charged killer, Adnan Syed) thought that she moved to California. Hae’s body turned up a few weeks later on February 9, and the police later charged Adnan Syed, her ex-boyfriend with her murder. Jay Wilds, an alleged accomplice to the crime, confessed to the police that he knew that Adnan killed Hae and Adnan tasked him with burying her. The state later used Jay’s testimony as the foundation for their case, even though it contradicted some of the state’s own physical evidence. While Jay’s eyewitness testimony does identify Adnan Syed as Hae Lee’s murderer, it is self-serving and inconsistent, with no physical evidence to corroborate it. Therefore,
Based on information provided by Sarah Koenig’s podcast, Serial, Hae Min Lee is killed by Adnan Syed, he yet says he didn’t murder her. Adnan is convicted of committing homicide, which he didn’t do, should not be in jail. This is for 3 main accounts; if something important happens a person remembers that day, Jay knew where Hae’s car was, and by how Sarah and her friend go by the day Jay described.
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
What would you do if you were convicted of a crime you didn’t do? The story of Serial narrated by Sarah Koenig is about a man named Adnan Syed. Adna Syed was wrongly convicted of killing his ex girlfriend Hae Min Lee.Jay Wilds is a friend of Adnan who used to smoke weed with him sometimes after school,but he is also a suspect in the case. This story is interesting because Koenig is trying to find out who the murderer is of Hae Min Lee or if Adnan can be proven innocent. Believe that Adnan is innocent of the murdering of Hae Min Lee because one piece of evidence which are letters that a woman named Asia wrote to Adnan claiming that she saw Adna that day and at the time Hae was murdered at the library and that she even had a little chat with him. Another piece of evidence is that Best Buy tweeted a tweet saying that they never had a payphone which Jay claims that Adna called him from to come pick him up.
Imagine a murderer walking down the road beside you and you don’t even know it. The average person will walk by a murderer and not even know it 36 times in their lifetime (Qin). Serial is a 12 episode podcast given by Sarah Koenig. Sarahs purpose is to give evidence to prove Adnan Syed innocent in the murder of Hae Min Lee. Hae was one of the people murdered in 1999. 14,196 people are murdered each year in the United States alone. Adnan Syed is the murder and currently serving his time in jail, for life.
In July of 2008, one of the biggest crime cases devastated the United States nation-wide. The death of Caylee Anthony, a two year old baby, became the most popular topic in a brief amount of time. Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, became the main suspect after the child supposedly was kidnapped and went missing. To this day, the Casey Anthony case shocks me because justice, in my opinion, wasn’t served. I feel as if the criminal conviction system became somewhat corrupted in this case. The entire nation, including the court system, knew that Casey Anthony was behind this criminal act, but yet she escaped all charges. I chose this case not only because it’s debatable, but also to help state the obvious, this case was handled the wrong way. Clearly the legal system was biased, which worked in Casey Anthony’s favor, freeing a murderer.
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
To support their conclusion the board tells the story of two men who were exonerated after spending thirty years in prison for a crime they did not commit. Days after the rape and murder of eleven year old Sabrina Buie, half-brothers Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown confessed to the crime. Not only were their confessions made under pressure without parents or an attorney present, but the prosecution failed to present multiple pieces of evidence to the defense lawyers, DNA evidence that proved McCollum and Brown were not responsible for the murder. In fact, the DNA belonged to a Roscoe Artis, who was a suspect all along and was convicted of a similar crime just weeks later.
As you can see there is no perfect crime. The littlest piece of hair or paint or anything left behind can be found. Suspects often miss these tiny peieces of evidence and while they looked over it, it is still lurking at the crim scene. It is guarenteed that a Crime Scene Investigator will find this evidence no matter how small and use it to find, prosecute, and convict a criminal.
These murder cases stayed unsolved for decades, and their resolution may give some sense of closure to the long-suffering families of the victims. But these triumphs are largely symbolic. By congratulating ourselves too much for them, we risk neglecting the challenges of the present.
In order to understand how to compile evidence for criminal cases, we must understand the most effective types of evidence. This topic is interesting because there are ample amounts of cases where defendants have gotten off because of the lack of forensic evidence. If we believe forensic evidence is so important and it affects our decisions, then maybe we need to be educated on the reality of forensic evidence. If we can be educated, then we may have a more successful justice system. If we have a more successful justice system than the public could gain more confidence that justice will be served. In order to do this, we must find what type of evidence is most effective, this can be done by examining different types of evidence.
Jay describes his active-involvement with Adnan in the crime. If Jay tells us the truth, he brings Adnan to school, holds onto Adnan’s cellphone and car so he could pick Adnan up when Adnan calls; picks Adnan up after he committed the murder, cruises around with Adnan, and brings Adnan to track practice. Additionally, Jay cruises around with Adnan in the afternoon, accompanies Adnan to LeakIn park and aids Adnan in digging the hole to bury Hae. Which criminal incriminates oneself? When Jay speaks about picking up Adnan he says: “I noticed that Hae wasn't with him. I parked next to him. He asked me to get out the car. I get out the car. He asks me, am I ready for this? And I say, ready for what? And he takes the keys. He opens the trunk. And all I can see is Hae's lips are all blue, and she's pretzeled up in the back of the trunk. And she's dead.” Jay goes to pick up Adnan from the actual murder and describes the episode in detail. Jay uses short sentences for dramatic effect, and speaks confidently, which is unusual when incriminating
Serial murder investigations are the most difficult cases for investigators. Serial murder investigations can become wide spread, and can include many challenges that will require time, money and resources. An example of the commitment required to investigate a serial murder case is that of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. One investigator worked the investigation full time for 11 years. The day he made the Arrest was the day he retired. Serial murder is one of today’s most terrifying crimes. The killing of multiple people within various jurisdictions can alter everyday life for people residing within these communities. The result is intense pressure from the public and media placed on investigators to track down and apprehend these killers who commit such horrific acts to unsuspecting victims.
...pporting details. At the conclusion of the article, the authors share their thoughts on how it might be virtually impossible to determine when a memory is true or false. I also like their willingness to continue the investigations despite how difficult it might be to obtain concrete answers.
It was midnight when it all happened. Tom Peterson was sleeping in bed next to his wife after a tiring day at work, while his two little daughters slept in the next room. Suddenly he was violently awakened by the terrified screams of his wife only to get a glance of a huge man standing over him with a butcher's knife. Tom was stabbed thirteen times, one of his daughters was killed and his wife was severely injured. Now, the Peterson family has just exited the supreme court of justice in which the judge has condemned the murderer of their little girl to the death penalty, for as it turns out the Peterson family had not been the first victim of this murderer.