Adnan Syed calls for Maryland attorney general to open investigation into his case, alleging prosecutorial misconduct
Published in News & Features
BALTIMORE — One year after his release from prison, Adnan Syed is asking for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General to open an investigation into alleged misconduct from prosecutors involved in his case.
Syed, 43, made the call to action during a sit-down with reporters Tuesday at his parents’ home in Baltimore County, addressing the facts of his prolonged legal saga for the first time publicly since going free.
In addition to stating his innocence in the death of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, Syed told reporters that one of his and his family’s biggest priorities all along has been to learn who killed Lee.
“We respect how much Hae’s family has suffered, because we know how much our family has suffered,” he said.
Over more than two hours, Syed laid out a detailed presentation, citing evidence of what he described as impropriety from the prosecutors who tried him for murder decades ago and who remained key players in what has become a prolonged legal saga.
“It’s never been about securing justice, it’s been about securing this conviction,” Syed added.
The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, promptly shot down Syed’s request for it to conduct an investigation.
“The attorney general does not have the authority to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct,” said Jennifer Donelan, a spokesman for Brown. She declined to comment further, citing pending appellate litigation stemming from Syed’s case.
Last September, a Baltimore Circuit Court judge threw out Syed’s convictions — and life sentence — in the 1999 killing of his high school sweetheart, Lee, and released him from custody for the first time in more than 20 years.
Before then-State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby dismissed Syed’s charges in October, Lee’s family gave notice of their intent to appeal the judge’s decision on the basis of crime victim rights. The Appellate Court of Maryland allowed the Lee family’s appeal to continue, despite Syed no longer facing any criminal charges, and reinstated his convictions in March.
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