Adnan Judy Case

The criminal justice system is meant to protect the innocent, and punish those who are guilty of a crime. However, no system is perfect, and as a result, sometimes the innocent become victims of the system that was meant to protect them. How exactly do these innocent people become victims of the system? Sometimes the person gets framed, and the crime scene is staged to point a finger at them. Sometimes, there is no strong physical evidence against them, yet circumstantial evidence is used by the crown to put them away. This happened to a 17 year old boy named Adnan Syed in Baltimore, Maryland, who was imprisoned for life, for the alleged murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Lee. Throughout the Serial podcast, Sarah Koenig is able to critically analyze information which proves Adnan’s innocence. Firstly, Asia’s letters gave Adnan an alibi for the time of the murder. Secondly, Adnan’s innocence can be demonstrated through the lack of any strong evidence and the prosecution’s use of circumstantial evidence which can be disproved. Thirdly, Jay’s constantly changing testimony is not credible evidence of Adnan’s guilt, making him innocent.

On January 13, at the time the State claims Hae was murdered, Adnan was at the Woodlawn Public Library, and there was a witness to prove it. “Her name's Asia McClain. [Adnan’s] like, right after I got arrested, she wrote me a couple of letters. And she said she also went to see my family. And she said she specifically remembers me being at the library, at the public library, right after school.” (Koenig 8) This demonstrates clearly that Adnan couldn’t have killed Hae between 2:15 and 2:36, and there’s a witness to prove this fact. Also, Hae was in a different location at that time, because a girl named Summer talked to her after school that day. “Summer said this conversation about Hae not getting on the bus happened… probably at around 2:30, 2:45… (Summer) All of the things that I’m unclear about or kinda shaky about, or-- I am clear on that. 2:36 would not have been possible for her to even have met him wherever because I know for a fact that she was with me during that time, or at the school during that time.” (Koenig 9) Summer confirms that Hae was not killed between 2:15 and 2:36, even though that’s what the State says. Summer is confirming that the State is wrong

Physical evidence was extremely lacking, and all DNA tests conducted were clear of Syed’s DNA. Therefore, it is more than likely that Syed is innocent. The evidence, or lack thereof, presented in the case of Adnan Syed v. State of Maryland proves that Adnan Syed is not guilty of the murder of Hae Min Lee.

We believe that Jay is guilty. In the next five minutes we will prove to you that Adnan is in fact innocent and why Jay should be in jail. Adnan was close friends with Jay’s girlfriend Stephanie which is what we believe Jay’s motive was to murder Hae. The court convicted Adnan of the murder with the motive of being jealous of Hae’s new relationship. We argue that the motive of jealousy was what made Jay kill Hae Min Lee.

The Serial podcast, hosted by Sarah Koenig, is about the murder of young Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee. Hae was a smart, ambitious, and outgoing young lady taken from this world too soon. Sarah Koenig and the podcast takes us through the ins and outs of typical and unusual teenager behavior to try and uncover something unseen in this case. Adnan Syed, the now convicted murder, and Jay Wilds, the state’s only witness, are the key people of this story. I believe Adnan’s innocence should be maintained because Jay’s story should not have been used for evidence, there was not enough evidence to even arrest Adnan, and Adnan had a trustworthy alibi.

The State of Maryland has charged Adnan with Hae’s murder solely using Jay’s alibi as their premise; they overlooked the alibis of former Woodlawn High School students who knew of Adnan, Hae, or Jay. Asia McClain, a

Adnan Syed is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, and various factors present him as a very likely suspect. Information put together by the state don’t add up, but instead prove he is innocent. Is Adnan guilty or innocent for his ex-girlfriend’s death? In the Serial Podcast, journalist Sarah Koenig discusses the case, committed almost seventeen years ago, and uncovers new evidence that indicates Adnan’s innocence. Adnan Syed has been viewed as a boyfriend, honor roll student, and a murderer. Many described him as a smart, flirtatious, and a likable high schooler. On January 13, 1999, his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, was murdered. Investigators immediately assumed Adnan as the primary suspect because Hae had broken up with him, a month

She was escorted out of the residence and a quick sweep of the house was made for other people or health hazards. A 22 year old white male, later identified as Robert Allen Jones was found face down on the bed (located in the middle of the North wall) in the mater bedroom. There was an appearance of a heavily bleeding wound from trauma to the head. Blood stains were found under the head on the pillow and bed sheet. Wounds appear to be caused by a rifle that was found on the west side of the room on the floor next to the bed. A quick check of the victim’s vitals revealed he was deceased. The apartment was secure and a warrant was issued for the search of the house and the collection of evidence. We then proceeded to sketch the crime scene, photograph the evidence found without and with evidence markers, dust for fingerprints throughout the apartment, and collect all evidence items listed above.

In fact there is no evidence tying him to the crime at all except a few fingerprints and a handprint in Hae Min Lee’s car which means that Syed was at some point in her car. This mean nothing because of how often they hung out together while they were dating and afterwards. Even after the break up both Syed and Lee were still good friends (Episode 1). When law enforcement discovered the body they also found two pieces of evidence next to the body, an empty bottle of alcohol and a piece of rope; they didn't test those two for any DNA evidence (Episode 3). Also supposedly there was shovels Wilds and Syed used to dig the grave for Lee but, both shovels were never recovered along with their soiled clothing that they had on that day from the graves dirt. Wilds threw away the evidence away behind West View mall. “She dives Jay back to Eastview Mall to the dumpsters back there so that Jay can Retrieve the shovels and wipe the handles clean of fingerprints” (Episode 4). The whole ordeal with evidence is almost sketchy seeing how little solid physical evidence the state have against Syed .Proving the state's case was weak there was one person that could disprove that Syed left with Wilds to kill Lee; that person is Asia McLean. McLean in fact wrote Syed notes saying she saw Syed and talked to him in the library at the same time the murder was suppose to take place. No attorney contacted McLean

Jay’s account of the story incriminates Adnan as the murderer of Hae. Jay starts off his statement with a conversation that was between him and Adnan. Jay claims that while shopping with Adnan he told him, “he was going to kill that bitch.” Adnan then leaves his car and cell phone with Jay so he can come pick him up after he had killed Hae. Later that afternoon Jay receives a call from Adnan, who tells him, “That bitch is dead. Come and get me. I’m at Best Buy.” Jay claims that when he arrives to pick up Adnan, he is shown Hae’s dead body which is in the back of the car. Jays says that he then drives Adnan back to school so he will have an alibi for Hae’s murder. After track practice Jay says he picked Adnan back up and drove him to Lincoln

What does it take to solve a mystery? The case involves the tragic death of Hae Min Lee and her boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who was accused of her murder, but i believe that Adnan Syed is innocent for the murder of Hae Min Lee. Adnan Syed is innocent of the murder of Hae Min Lee says he doesn’t remember that day really well. Adnan Syed does answer some questions, and Jay Wilds is a criminal. Adnan Syed is innocent for the murder of Hae Min Lee for these reasons.

From the very first episode, it has been said that there was no physical evidence against Adnan or that he committed the murder. When the detectives would find a possible piece of evidence, there would not be any DNA on it, or there would be no defense for it. For example, the palm print found on the back of the map book found in Hae’s car. The palm print was Adnan’s, however, this is not solid evidence because Adnan was often in her car (Ep. 6). Another example is, Jay’s story and the call log. Jay’s story was the Adnan had given him his cell phone and his car for

I think that it wasn’t Adnan that killed Hae but Jay did it. I think that he did it because he knew where Hae’s car was parked. I feel like Jay should have gotten some punishment when they convicted Adnan because he was an accessory to murder . I feel like he did it because he seems to tell a lot of people about it to point the finger at Adnan.

He has a lot of girls!’” (Episode 2: The Breakup p. 37). When someone is going around dating other people, it is apparent that they have moved on with their lives. If this is true about Adnan, he couldn’t have been the one to commit the crime, as people who trust that he is guilty are convinced that his main motive for killing Hae was because he was broken-hearted. This next quotation is from the part of the story when Koenig was discussing matters on the phone with a former schoolmate of Adnan’s, Asia McClain, who is yet another important person in the case. McClain was talking about a conversation she had had with Adnan while she was waiting to be picked up from the library. “And he told me that him and Hae had broke up. And I was like, oh, well, that 's a bummer. And I was like, what happened? And he was like, oh, well, she is seeing this other guy, some white dude, but he was pretty chill about it. He was just like, you know, well, if she doesn 't want to be with me, then that 's fine. I just wish the best for her-- that kind of attitude.” (Episode 1: The Alibi p. 24). In the words of McClain, “...but he was pretty chill about it.” What she meant by this was that Adnan didn’t overreact about he and Hae splitting, because if he did, it would show that he was irate with the fact that his relationship with her ended. Adnan did not show any signs of jealousy or anger towards Hae, thus proving that he didn’t have a motive to kill her.

The defense demonstrates how ineffective and unreliable the criminal justice system is through the tactics used. The only job Adnan’s lawyer, Christina Gutierrez, had was this: to prove Adnan is innocent. However, undoubtedly, she did not do her investigation properly. For instance, Asia’s letter to Adnan when he is in prison was the key evidence to prove that the State’s timeline was wrong. Asia mentioned speaking to Adnan in the Woodlawn Public library, for 15 to 20 minutes during the time the State’s said Hae was killed. The judge wrote Christina Gutierrez’s, Adnan’s lawyer, not using Asia McClain as an alibi witness was strategic, since there was no specified time in the original letters. There was also the call Asia made to the Prosecutor, Kevin Urick, saying that she only wrote the affidavit because Adnan’s family pressured her. If these were the only facts to consider when trying to comprehend the tactics of the defense, I would say it was a good call. Despite it being a well thought out method it made me wonder, if she has gone to the library and asked to see the footage of the day Asia claims to have held a conversation with Adnan, rather than a disadvantage, the letter would have been beneficial for them, since Adnan now has an alibi. Proving the timeline the State presented to