Adnan Syed, whose case amassed a worldwide following of Serial podcast listeners, will remain free—even though his murder conviction still stands, a Baltimore judge ruled on Thursday. Judge Jennifer Schiffer agreed to reduce Syed's sentence to time served under a relatively new state law that provides a pathway to release for people convicted of crimes committed when they were minors, the AP reports. The judge ruled that he will be on supervised probation for five years. "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," Schiffer wrote in the decision.
The judge's ruling followed a hearing last week 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 in 1999. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys told Schiffer that Syed, now 43, doesn't pose a risk to public safety. Lee's brother and mother urged the judge to uphold his life sentence. "I hope that everyone understands that Hae Min Lee and her family are the true victims in this case," the judge said at one point. "Their suffering cannot be overstated."
Syed, who 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, which was later reinstated on appeal. Since his release, he's been working at Georgetown University's Prisons and Justice Initiative and caring for aging family members. The judge noted in her ruling that Syed's behavior after his release gave her confidence he has achieved "the maturity and fitness required for a crime-free life outside of prison," Schiffer wrote.
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