Adnan Syed case: Judge to impose new, reduced sentence at Friday hearing

Dan Belson, The Baltimore Sun on Mar 12, 2025

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BALTIMORE — A Baltimore judge is scheduled to formally re-sentence Adnan Syed on Friday, just over a week after ruling he should not serve any more prison time in connection with the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee.

The official end to the “Serial” subject’s life prison sentence — which included a slew of appeals and his 2022 release from prison — will be issued via Zoom. Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer already decided last week that she would reduce Syed’s sentence to time served, plus five years of supervised probation.

Schiffer made her ruling under the Juvenile Restoration Act, which allows people convicted of crimes that occurred before they turned 18 to ask a judge to reduce their sentence. During an emotional hearing the week before, Syed’s attorney called several witnesses testifying to the 44-year-old’s character since his arrest in 1999.

Syed still stands convicted of first-degree murder and other offenses for the death of Lee, his high school girlfriend who was found dead in Leakin Park in 1999.

He has been out of prison since 2022, when Baltimore prosecutors moved to vacate his conviction — though the Maryland Supreme Court reinstated his conviction, and new Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, who believes Syed is guilty, said he won’t try again.

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