Adnan Syed hearing - live: Serial podcast’s subject walks out of court to cheers as conviction is overturned - The Independent

Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit podcast series Serial, walked out of court to cheers after a Maryland judge overturned his murder conviction and ordered his release after over 23 years behind bars.

The quashing of his conviction came after prosecutors said that an almost year-long investigation had cast doubts about the validity of cellphone tower data and uncovered new information about the possible involvement of two alternate unnamed suspects.

In the meantime, Mr Syed will remain on home detention with a GPS bracelet monitoring his movements.

After 23 years in prison, Adnan Syed seems to be enjoying some of the simpler things after his high-profile 1999 murder coniviction was vacated.

A judge has overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, whose legal case was the subject of the hit podcast series Serial.

When it comes to the Adnan Syed case, as Clémence Michallon writes in her latest Voices column, not guilty was “the only possible conclusion in 2014, and it remains the only possible conclusion now, eight years later,” given all the holes in the original prosecution.

Adnan Syed said he “can’t believe it’s real” as he walked out of court a free man after a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn vacated the 41-year-old’s conviction “in the interest of justice” on Monday and granted him a new trial, marking the latest dramatic twist in a case that has captured attention across the globe.

Syed has spent the last two decades behind bars for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend Hae Min Lee.

Adnan Syed walked out of court a free man on Monday, after an almost year-long investigation uncovered new evidence about the possible involvement of two alternative suspects in the 1999 slaying of student Hae Min Lee.

One of the key claims used in vacating Adnan Syed’s murder conviction is that prosecutors witheld valuable evidence from his defence, in what’s known as a Brady violation.

First, Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby, whose office sought to have Mr Syed’s conviction vacated in the first place, must decide whether to press new charges.

Subsequent investigations have revealed evidence of other suspects wasn’t shared with Mr Syed’s defence, prosecutors said.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office says it stands by its decision to fight Mr Syed’s appeals over the years, and accused Ms Mosby’s effort to vacate the conviction of containing “serious problems.” It also denied committing a so-called Brady Violation, which occurs when officials fail to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to those accused of crimes.

Adnan Syed is freshly out of prison after spending 23 years behind bars, after his conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a high school ex-girlfriend, was vacated on Monday.

In the meantime, Mr Syed, 41, is fundraising for his life outside of prison, seeking $50,000 his team says will go towards legal expenses and supporting his re-integration.

Adnan Syed’s story wasn’t always high-profile.

As Baltimore prosecutors ask for Adnan Syed’s conviction to be vacated, Clémence Michallon remembers the podcast that transformed a genre.

Adnan Syed walks out of court after his sentence was overturned