A Baltimore judge ruled Thursday that Adnan Syed, who was featured in the "Serial" podcast more than a decade ago, does not have to return to prison and will remain on five years of supervised release under Maryland's Juvenile Restoration Act.
“After considering the entire record, the court concludes that the Defendant is not a danger to the public and that the interests of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence,” Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer wrote.
The decision comes after years of court rulings and appeals that included one prosecutor supporting overturning Syed’s murder conviction and the prosecutor’s successor withdrawing that motion.
He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years after he was convicted of murder in the killing of his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. His case was made famous by the hit podcast “Serial” in 2014, which raised questions about his conviction.
The current Baltimore state’s attorney, Ivan J. Bates, in February withdrew the motion to vacate Syed’s conviction but has supported a reduction in his sentence based on rehabilitation.
In a statement Thursday, Bates called the ruling a "just outcome for a tragedy that took the life of a young woman whose family is forever altered. I hope the Lee family can find peace and healing in the aftermath of this challenging experience. My office is here to support them whenever they may need it.”
Syed's lawyer, Erica Suter, said her client was "focused on the joy and relief of this decision."
"Given his accomplishments in prison and his work in the community since release, he was a model candidate for a sentence reduction. Adnan is committed to continuing to be a productive member of his community and living a life centered around his family," she said in a statement.
After Thursday's ruling, Lee's family said that though his sentence has been reduced and he can remain free, Syed remains convicted of first-degree premeditated murder because of overwhelming direct and circumstantial evidence.
"We hope that one day Mr. Syed can summon the courage to take responsibility for his crime and express sincere remorse," said David Sanford, counsel for Lee's family.
Syed, now 43, has maintained his innocence. Circuit judges overturned his conviction twice, most recently in 2022, but Maryland’s appeals court reinstated it each time.
In the most recent instance, the appeals court reinstated the conviction after it found that officials failed to provide sufficient notice for Lee’s family to attend the hearing.
A hearing was held Feb. 26 about whether Syed should have his sentence reduced, which is allowed under a 2021 state law that allows reductions for some people sentenced as juveniles. When Lee was killed, she was 18 and Syed was 17.
Lee’s family has opposed any reduction in Syed’s sentence. Lee’s mother, Youn Wha Kim, said at the Feb. 26 court hearing that her world collapsed when her daughter was killed.
“I was living in a prison without bars while Syed was living in a prison with bars,” she said in a statement read by a translator. “I had no will to live.”
Syed and Lee attended Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County and had dated and broken up. Lee disappeared on Jan. 13, 1999, and her strangled body was found buried in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park the following month.
Syed was arrested and charged in her killing. A first trial ended in a mistrial, but in a second in 2000 a jury convicted Syed of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment.
Syed was freed in 2022 after a judge overturned his conviction, and he has been allowed to remain free for further court proceedings.
