Depending on where one stands, Adnan Syed is either guilty of murder or a victim of a justice system that has wrongly convicted and imprisoned him now for over half his life. Adnan was arrested at aged 17, denied bail, and was convicted of his ex-girlfriend's murder, Hae Min Lee, in 2000. In a new HBO docuseries, Adnan said that it was an ‘unstoppable force of sadness’ after Hae was murdered, and then he was arrested that February and charged. ‘It’s almost like there’s a flood outside your house, before you even come to terms with that, now there’s a fire inside your house,’ Adnan explains. How the jury managed to surpass “reasonable doubt” in this case is beyond belief. There are at least three viable suspects that could have murdered Hae—THREE! As you listen to Adnan’s case, see if you can rule any of them out.

Also, view photos/images from crime scenes and police evidence relevant to this episode at WrongfulConvictionsNews.com.  

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Resources:

https://www.adnansyedwiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SDTJ-Interview-Jim-Clemente-Laura-Richards-Ep133-Truth-and-Justice-Podcast-Transcript-20150207.pdf

https://undisclosed-podcast.com/episodes/season-1/episode-3-jays-day-relaunch.html

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=ELA2-NQ3OzCz-YW3yIMZ4Y1A

Sir William Blackstone said in 1765, “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer“. Blackstone’s principle is a cornerstone of criminal law. That’s why we presume people to be innocent until proven guilty. John Adams expanded on that principle and predicted the state we are in now:

It is more important that innocence should be protected, than it is, that guilt be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world, that all of them cannot be punished…. when innocence itself, is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, ‘it is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security.’ And if such a sentiment as this were to take hold in the mind of the subject that would be the end of all security whatsoever

It’s a tragedy that so much of our American justice system seems determined to thwart that principle these days. We are so intent on throwing people into jail that guilt or innocence doesn’t much matter.

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