BALTIMORE — After spending more than two decades behind bars, Adnan Syed is a free man.
Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped all charges against Syed related to the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, after new DNA tests excluded him.
The 41-year-old’s conviction was vacated last month. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said previous prosecutors in Syed’s case failed to disclose information pointing to two other suspects.
Mosby could have moved to re-try Syed, but after new DNA tests of items belonging to Lee didn’t yield a match to Syed, she decided to drop the charges.
Legal expert Adam Ruther, an attorney Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP, said exonerations are “few and far between.”
“It takes a lot of evidence in order to get to that place. So yeah, this is an unusual circumstance, no doubt about it,” he said.
Ruther spoke with WJZ’s Nicky Zizaza and Rick Ritter about the case and what happens next.
Nicky Zizaza: What I think is top of mind for so many people is that we are learning about these two new suspects. And in the original case, they’re saying one of these aspects was not presented to the defense. How does something like that happen in such a high-profile case?
Adam Ruther: It’s an interesting question, what we mean when we say a “new suspect.” They have not released the names of these individuals, so we don’t really know whether they are true newcomers or whether one of them is a true newcomer to the case. Or whether there is additional evidence that wasn’t disclosed that would have moved that person up in the alternative suspects list.
If they were people who were already known in the case — people who were interviewed, people who were witnesses — but there was evidence that would have suggested to the defense that maybe this is someone else I should point to as an alternative, then that information should definitely have been disclosed.
On the other hand, if this is somebody who is truly new to the case, meaning no one even knew about the evidence that would have made this person suspect at the time, that’s a very different circumstance. Until we know who these people are, it’s very hard for us out here to really know what happened there.
Rick Ritter: It’s gonna be interesting to see how this all plays out, And part of that is what comes next for Adnan Syed in terms of any legal recourse after spending more than 20 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.
Adam Ruther: I think anybody in his position would want to know, “OK, so how will I be compensated for this?” And the answer to that is really twofold. There’s an administrative process under Maryland law where someone who has been wrongfully convicted and spent time in jail can be compensated using a formula based on the number of days they were incarcerated and they shouldn’t have been.
But then the extra question on top of that is whether there might be any grounds for a civil suit based on any misconduct that led to his ultimate conviction. We haven’t seen any facts that might suggest that at this point, but again, everything is unfolding. We don’t know what e don’t know. We’ll just have to see.
Rick Ritter: How soon do you think we can see that come into play here?
Adam Ruther: Well, the administrative process will probably start almost immediately, but it does take a little while. The question of whether there’s an investigation that may lead to other civil action by Mr. Syed, that will probably take quite a bit