(Washington Insider Magazine) – BALTIMORE (Transatlantic Today) – In a case of a Maryland inmate whose homicide conviction was detailed in the podcast “Serial,” a Baltimore court has ordered further evidence testing.
According to NBC NEWS, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn issued the order on Monday requiring Baltimore police to submit evidence in the trial against Adnan Syed to a California forensics lab within 15 days.
Syed’s defense and prosecutors filed a motion last week asking for a retest of several items obtained as evidence in the 1999 death of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee via DNA technology not available at the time of Syed’s trials.
Syed was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 after killing Lee and hiding her remains in a Baltimore park. Lee and Syed had dated in high school.
The “Serial” podcast’s first season, which aired in 2014, focused on the subject that resulted in fresh legal proceedings.
Lee allegedly wrestled with Syed in a car before her death, according to authorities. Syed’s lawyer claimed in the last petition that the murderer had to be in close contact with the victim in such situations. The motion asked that the evidence be tested for the existence of DNA.
The defense of Syed addressed the state’s attorney’s office’s sentence review section about Syed’s case, according to a statement from the state’s attorney’s office. Prosecutors stated that when the case was being evaluated for a potential retrial, it became evident that further forensic examination, which wasn’t accessible during the initial investigation or prosecution, would be reasonable. After serving over 20 years in jail, individuals convicted as minors can request a sentence reduction under the Juvenile Restoration Act, which was approved last year.
The DNA testing of evidence in Syed’s case was overseen by the Attorney general’s office in 2018, and neither of the samples came positive for Syed. The defense maintained that this was sufficient proof he did not kill Lee, but the prosecution disagreed. During the attorney general’s review, the items getting examined under this order were not assessed.
