Naman Shrestha
In HBO’s ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed,’ the primary focus is on the murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee and how the investigation led the authorities to her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. Despite his claims of innocence, he was arrested and convicted of the crime. Over the next two decades, he and his family, with the help of his defense counsel, fought for his freedom. The true crime documentary series also features interviews with his loved ones, who talk about their personal experiences throughout the entire ordeal.
Adnan Syed’s 2000 Conviction Followed Multiple Appeals and Retrial Requests
Born on May 21, 1981, Adnan Masud Syed is the middle child of Shamim and Syed Rahman. Growing up alongside his brothers, Yusuf and Tanveer Syed, Adnan attended Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he got into a relationship with Hae Min Lee. A while after the couple broke up, she went missing on January 13, 1999. Nearly a month later, her remains were discovered in Leakin Park on February 9. As the investigation progressed, the detectives found multiple pieces of evidence and witness statements, especially provided by Jay Wilds, against Adnan. On February 28, he was arrested and charged with his former girlfriend’s murder.
Maintaining his innocence, Adnan pleaded not guilty to the charges and went to trial. After his first trial resulted in a mistrial, he was found guilty of murder, kidnapping, robbery, and false imprisonment in the second trial on February 25, 2000. Consequently, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder and an additional 30 years for false imprisonment. After more than a decade of attempts at a retrial, the court granted Adnan a new trial in June 2016. While the state appealed the ruling, his defense attorneys requested that he be released on bail pending the new trial, but the request was denied. In 2019, his conviction was reinstated, and the retrial was denied as the US Supreme Court refused to hear his case in November.
Adnan Syed Was Released From Prison in 2022 After Over Two Decades
A few years later, in March 2022, Adnan’s defense requested the court to order the DNA testing on Hae’s clothing, shoes, and rape kit, in order to prove his alleged innocence. In September of the same year, the state asked for his conviction to be overturned in light of the potential involvement of a couple of other suspects. On September 19, Adnan’s conviction was officially vacated due to unreliable evidence, after which he was released from prison that day itself. Although the prosecution requested the court to drop the charges against him, his conviction was reinstated on March 28, 2023. Despite Adnan’s request to reconsider the decision in late April, the court denied the motion.
The prosecution withdrew its previously filed motion to vacate Adnan’s conviction on February 25, 2025, but supported his motion for a reduced sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act, which allowed him to be released as he was a minor when Hae Min Lee was killed. A couple of weeks later, on March 6, it was announced that Adnan’s sentence would be reduced and that he would not serve more prison time for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, but his conviction would stand. The judge ruled that he was “not a danger to the public” anymore and stated that the “interests of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence…I trust this will be the last time we see each other.” A week later, on March 14, he was formally resentenced to time served.
Adnan Syed Reportedly Works at Georgetown University Today
A few months before getting released from prison, in January 2022, Adnan Syed got into the Georgetown Bachelor of Liberal Arts program at the Patuxent Institution in Jessup, Maryland, where he successfully completed two semesters with the help of his professors and peers. He joined statistics, philosophy, and life writing courses. During the course, he also learned how to annotate, how to use a laptop, and how to analyze text. A couple of months after his release, on December 12, 2025, he began working as a program associate for the Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Through PJI, Adnan is able to continue his education and aspire to become a lawyer.
He stated, “To go from prison to being a Georgetown student and then to actually be on campus on a pathway to work for Georgetown at the Prisons and Justice Initiative, it’s a full circle moment. PJI changed my life. It changed my family’s life. Hopefully, I can have the same kind of impact on others.” He also visited the DC Jail as the keynote speaker. Expanding on his experience, he stated, “It was really touching for me, especially because I remember what it was like to be 17, 18 years old and to have someone from the outside come in and provide us with support and encouragement.”
Still serving as the Program Associate at PJI, he continues to work hard to give education and job training opportunities to incarcerated individuals, while also advocating for the wrongfully convicted. Having been devoid of spending time with his loved ones, Adnan devotes plenty of time to his family and friends. It appears that he is striving to turn over a new leaf and move forward in life. In October 2024, he lost his father, who had been battling an illness for a long time. Dedicated to taking care of his aging mother these days, Adnan is also a married man who tries to be the best husband he can be to his wife. Apart from that, he often contributes to the community in every way he can.
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