Judge formally sentences Adnan Syed to time served in Serial murder case
A Maryland judge has formally sentenced Adnan Syed to the time he has already served in prison, appearing to finally bring to a close a long-running case with numerous legal twists and turns that received worldwide attention from the true-crime podcast Serial.
Judge Jennifer Schiffer had already decided that Syed would remain free in a recent written ruling, even though his conviction in the murder of his ex-girlfriend in 1999 when they were in high school still stands.
Syedās sentence was modified under a relatively new state law that provides a pathway to release for people convicted of crimes committed when they were minors. The modified sentence includes five years of supervised probation.
At a brief hearing in Baltimore, Schiffer modified his probationary conditions slightly to enable him to travel to Washington DC and Virginia without seeking specific permission from a probation agent. Syed, 43, has a job at Georgetown Universityās Prisons and Justice Initiative. He also has family in Virginia.
Syedās attorney, Erica Suter, requested unsupervised probation at the hearing, but the judge decided not to go that far.
āI am mindful that Mr Syed requested unsupervised probation, but given the relief that this court has already granted on these extraordinarily serious and tragic charges, I believe Iāve shown more consideration to him than anyone could have expected,ā Schiffer said.
The judgeās ruling followed a February hearing that included emotional testimony from Syed and relatives of the victim, Hae Min Lee, who was strangled and buried in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys told Schiffer that Syed does not pose a risk to public safety. The judge reminded Syed, who watched Fridayās proceedings online, that his suspended sentence still potentially looms over him. He was sentenced in 2000 to life in prison plus 30 years for first-degree murder and other charges.
āI hope Mr Syed, and I trust, that this will be the last time we see each other,ā Schiffer said. āOtherwise, I donāt have to tell you the amount of time thatās hanging over your head.ā
Syed, who was 17 when Lee was killed and has maintained his innocence, was released from prison in 2022 after Baltimore prosecutors said they had uncovered problems with the case and moved to vacate his conviction. It was later reinstated on appeal.
Leeās family and their attorney said old wounds were ripped open when Syedās conviction was vacated by a former stateās attorney. The family later succeeded in getting the conviction reinstated after challenging the ruling on procedural grounds, arguing they didnāt receive proper notice to attend the hearing that freed Syed from prison, where they participated only through a video connection.
David Sanford, an attorney for Leeās family, said Fridayās hearing ābrings to a close the long saga of Adnan Syedā. He said the family was grateful to the court for giving them ādue respect throughout these proceedings, allowing us to fully argue to the court the victimās positionā.
āThe family is also thankful to the Maryland supreme court for its historic decision in this case, which grants victims particular rights previously enshrined generally in the Maryland state constitution,ā Sanford said. āAs a result, victims now have the right to be heard, the right to be present, and the right to meaningfully participate in criminal justice proceedings.ā
The current Baltimore stateās attorney, Ivan Bates, who publicly raised doubts about the integrity of the conviction before becoming the cityās top prosecutor, said in February that his office believes in the juryās verdict and has no plans to continue investigating the case.
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