Serial Case Of Adnan Syed: Unreliable Evidence

DAICHI ONISHI
TREVINO
ENGLISH III
05/16.2023
Serial Essay
Adnan Syed’s conviction should be overturned as the state's case against him was built on unreliable evidence, inconsistent witness testimonies, and an unconvincing timeline. In 1999, 17-year-old Adnan Syed was arrested and convicted of the first-degree murder of his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The case has been reopened since then and is still ongoing due to controversy over Adnan’s innocence and questionable evidence.
There is a severe lack of physical evidence in this case (reliable and unreliable). In the Serial podcast, Koeing states that; “The most incriminating piece of physical evidence against Adnan Syed was…a palm print. On a map… police found it in the backseat

Jay had multiple reasons to lie and throw Adnan under the bus since he knew that the police saw him as suspicious. In another interview, the police and Koeing talk to another witness, and Jay’s close friend Jenn. She shared with Koeing and the police that Jay threw away and cleaned his fingerprints off the shovels and his clothing the day after the murder. (Serial. 04.06). The police catch that Jay is lying about the extent of his assistance in the burial since if he didn’t help Adnan bury the body he wouldn’t have any fingerprints to clean off the shovel or a reason to ditch his clothing. Even if Jenn didn’t say that in her statement and interview with the police, Jay being caught lying about something so serious brings a question to his previous statements and their credibility. When a witness’s testimony at trial is inconsistent with the witness’s past statements it is called perjury and it MUST be acknowledged by the court via (18 U.S.C. §1621). Because of Jay’s perjury and plea agreement, the court would have been able to void his argument and sentence him, however, it is also stated that: “The Defendant shall continue to cooperate fully with the State by providing full, complete, and candid information concerning the murder of Hae Min Lee. . .” (Jay’s Plea Agreement. 12). That clause is where Jay was able to corroborate his inconsistencies and change his story again to say exactly what the state wanted to hear. Jay provides a plethora of information for the state that is just credible enough to ensure that Adnan would be convicted and not himself. Jay protecting himself in court is why Adnan receives such an unfair