# Adnan Syed will not serve additional jail time in Serial podcast murder case

## Ali Abbas Ahmadi
BBC News

## 6 March 2025

## Byline
- **Ali Abbas Ahmadi**
- BBC News

## Article


*Getty Images*

Adnan Syed spent 20 years in jail after being convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend.

Adnan Syed, whose criminal conviction was made famous in the hit true-crime podcast Serial, will not have to serve any additional jail time after being resentenced in the murder of his ex-girlfriend.

A Baltimore judge ruled that Syed "is not a danger to the public", according to the BBC's US partner CBS News, and that "the interests of justice will be served better by a reduced sentence".

Syed was convicted in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and sentenced to life in prison.

His case spawned the Serial podcast, which questioned key evidence in the case and helped lead to his resentencing.

Syed's conviction in the murder case still stands. His resentencing was possible under a law that allows for sentence reductions for people convicted as minors and have spent more than 20 years in prison.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Jennifer Schiffer made the ruling in court on Tuesday.

Syed and Min Lee were classmates in high school in Maryland when Lee disappeared in January 1999. Her body was found in a forest three weeks later.

Syed, then 17, was found guilty of first degree murder in February 2000, and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors at the time alleged Syed carried out the crime after becoming jealous of Lee's new relationship after the two broke up.

In 2014, Syed's case gained national attention through the true-crime podcast 'Serial', which was listened to by millions of people.

The podcast raised questions about the evidence provided by prosecutors and witnesses that appeared at his trial, and it explored the effectiveness of Syed's attorney.

Fans of the podcast have donated more than $80,000 to Syed's legal fund, according to CBS News.

Syed was cleared of all charges in 2022 after prosecutors said he had been wrongfully convicted.

But his conviction was reinstated a year later in 2023 after an appeals court found that the lower court had failed to give the victim's brother sufficient notice of the hearing that freed Syed.

Judge Schiffer's ruling on Tuesday allows for Syed to remain free. Now 43, he has been out of prison since 2022.

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