Serial (Podcast)

Started by Tictacbk, November 05, 2014, 10:24:52 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.



Kal


©brad

I know we've all kind of moved on but this theory is very interesting. Read it at once.


Jeremy Blackman

That is interesting. And possible. This is the part I don't buy, though:

QuoteBut then Hae's body was found. Things were about to fall apart.

If the police figured out who'd actually killed her, both Jay and Adnan would have their lives to worry about. So maybe they pulled straws for who would take the fall. More likely, they figured Adnan had a way better chance of getting off.

There are so many unlikely things at play here. I don't see Hae getting caught up in drug dealing etc. (no accounts of her even hanging out with Jay and Adnan that I remember). And it seems vastly more likely that Jay and Adnan would turn on each other than cooperate in the way that's suggested.

I think there was already a good explanation for why Adnan didn't go after Jay in the interviews.

Kal

There's no way Adnan would rather go to jail for the rest of his life than give away the fact that there was someone else involved, regardless of who they were. As much as he might fear for his life or family. Especially considering he is now created a monster of reporters and investigators digging into the case. He's bringing unwanted attention that could still put him in danger. If he took the fall to protect his family from the mob, he would keep his mouth shut for the rest of his life.



Jeremy Blackman

Adnan Syed allowed to present new evidence

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34753646

Lawyers for Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit US podcast Serial, will be allowed to present new evidence in his case after a court ruling on Friday.

Syed, 35, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999.

His defence team is trying to reopen the case based on some of the questions raised in the Serial podcast over whether Syed had received a fair trial.

A judge in Baltimore has allowed lawyers to submit new evidence for the first time since his conviction.

Serial, which was released in weekly instalments at the end of last year, became a global hit, breaking records as the fastest podcast to reach five million downloads on iTunes.

In it, journalists went through every detail in the investigation into the death of Lee, for which her ex-boyfriend Syed was convicted. Apparent errors and possible new evidence were discovered by the Serial team, leading to calls for a new investigation.

Lawyers will now be allowed to present new evidence on two fronts: the reliability of mobile phone records and the testimony of a potential alibi.

In the 2000 trial, prosecutors weighed heavily on mobile phone records that allegedly placed Syed at a park in Baltimore where Lee's body was buried. Syed, who was 17 at the time, has always maintained his innocence.

But a motion filed in court in August said a newly recovered mobile phone document showed "the cell tower evidence was misleading and should have never been admitted at trial".

The new hearing, a date for which has yet to be decided, will also hear evidence from a potential alibi for Syed.

Asia McClain, a friend of Syed's who was not heard in the original trial, claims to have seen him in a library at the time of the suspected killing.

The fact that Syed's first lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez, failed to submit this evidence in the original trial was one of the arguments used to win him the right to appeal in February.

Court papers show the hearing will also look at why Syed's defence team did not present Ms McLain as a witness and whether there was "potential prosecutorial misconduct" as a result.

polkablues

My house, my rules, my coffee

Jeremy Blackman

It's pretty good, too. I've long been curious about the Bowe Bergdahl story, so I'm excited they're tackling it.

The only problem is, I have a really strong instinct to give him the benefit of the doubt. Serial will need to do a lot to overcome that.

Jeremy Blackman

This season has been... less exciting? But I have to say, Episode 8 just blew things wide open for me. I feel like I suddenly understand him completely.

(John Hodgman can find the crux in less than 45 minutes. Sarah Koenig can find it too; just takes 8 episodes.)

I think Ayn Rand preys on the mentally ill in a very specific way. In Bergdahl's case, it's so fascinating how his personality led him to Rand, and how his Rand obsession might have exacerbated everything. Especially his vision of himself as this singular all-powerful individual — a Jason Bourne, a samurai, a John Galt. He believed not only that he could do it, but that he was entitled to do it.

Jeremy Blackman

Conviction vacated, new trial granted for Adnan Syed of 'Serial'

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-adnan-syed-new-trial-20160630-story.html

A Baltimore judge on Thursday ordered a new trial for Adnan Syed, adding a new chapter to a two-decade-old murder case propelled to international attention by the popular podcast "Serial."

Syed, now 35, has been serving a life sentence since 2000, when he was convicted of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee the year before. The body of Lee, a classmate of his at Woodlawn High School, was found buried in Baltimore's Leakin Park.

Retired Judge Martin Welch, who had denied Syed's previous request for a new trial, vacated Syed's conviction Thursday and said questions about cellphone tower evidence should have been raised by his trial team.

The ruling came four months after a hearing that included testimony from an alibi witness who had been featured in "Serial."

The podcast was downloaded millions of times, drawing legions of devoted fans who scrutinized the case online.

Susan Simpson, an attorney and "Serial" blogger who produced an offshoot podcast called "Undisclosed," is credited with tracking down the evidence that Welch cited in granting a new trial.

"If it weren't for her eagle eye ... we might not have won here," said Rabia Chaudry, the Syed family friend who co-hosted "Undisclosed."

Syed remains in prison in Western Maryland, where he has been fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. His attorney said he expects the state to appeal the ruling, but said the defense had cleared its biggest hurdle.