Adnan Syed's False Conviction

Jair Lopez

Mr. Scrymgeour

English

13 April 2023

Adnan Syed’s False Conviction

According to a study by Georgia Innocence Project, it is said that in the United States, between 4-6% of people serving time in prison are actually innocent and have been wrongfully convicted. This means that 5% of inmates are not guilty. 1 out of 20 criminal cases results in a wrongful conviction. It is possible that Adnan Syed could have been wrongfully convicted for the murder of Hae Min Lee because of his race, culture, or religion. Throughout Serial (a podcast discussing the love story between two teens from Baltimore in the 1990s), Adnan Syed is interviewed by Sarah Koenig as her goal is to find out who really killed Hae Min Lee as she deeply investigates

He was born on U.S. soil making him American, but his ethnicity is Pakistani. He attended Woodlawn High School, in Baltimore Maryland where he fell in love with his girlfriend at the time who was Hae Min Lee. At the age of 17, he was made the alleged killer for the murder of Hae. Hae was last seen alive and was reported missing on January 13, 1999, in Baltimore. Her body was later discovered almost a month later on February 9, 1999, where her body was found in a small grave in Leakin Park. Adnan’s and Hae’s relationship in high school was a story of love where both loved each other. At first, they had all love for each other and both went to prom together. As the relationship aged, it started going downhill for both of them, both Adnan and Hae started to see the struggles in their

People are convinced that Adnan committed the crime and that he is the killer. However, throughout the trial, there is a lack of evidence and also a lack of DNA evidence proving that Adnan did commit the crime. Syed was recently released from prison in September 2022 after serving 23 years. He is an alibi in the case meaning that he was accused of a crime while being elsewhere and being accused of a crime. There is a high possibility that Adnan is found guilty quickly because of his lack of emotions for Hae’s death and also since everything that happened throughout the case is pointed at Adnan for the blame. Throughout Serial (podcast) we hear that Adnan pretty much had a lack of emotions for the death of Hae leading to him being convicted easier. Whether he was convicted for his lack of emotions or because of his religion or race, the system shouldn’t automatically focus on Adnan for committing the crime. The system should mostly focus on the evidence and witnesses that they are provided with and from there they can decide who committed the