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HBO released a new Adnan Syed doc episode and it is shockingly dishonest

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Release Date: 09/24/2025

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We watched the newly-released final episode of HBO’s The Case Against Adnan Syed, and we have questions.  Are the producers really trying to pin the murder of Hae Min Lee on a Black man with obvious mental health issues who was already cleared as a suspect--and did they really need to show the world a fully-nude photo of him to make that case? What is the story that they are trying to tell here, and just how far off is it from the truth? From the libelously deceptive cold open to the slyly deceptive summary of Syed’s post-Serial legal proceedings and beyond, Matt brings his...

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We watched the newly-released final episode of HBO’s The Case Against Adnan Syed, and we have questions.  Are the producers really trying to pin the murder of Hae Min Lee on a Black man with obvious mental health issues who was already cleared as a suspect--and did they really need to show the world a fully-nude photo of him to make that case? What is the story that they are trying to tell here, and just how far off is it from the truth? From the libelously deceptive cold open to the slyly deceptive summary of Syed’s post-Serial legal proceedings and beyond, Matt brings his post-conviction expertise to make the case against The Case Against Adnan Syed.

FOOTNOTES

  1. SIO354: “Serial's Adnan Syed Conviction Reinstated--What Happened? (w/Matt Cameron) (4/4/2023)

  2. OA1067: “Adnan Syed Remains a Convicted Murderer” (9/9/2024)

  3. State’s Attorney Ivan Bates’s memorandum in support of his Motion to Withdraw the previously-filed Motion to Vacate Judgment

  4. 85-page Court of Appeals decision in Lee v. State reinstating Adnan Syed’s conviction (3/28/2023)

  5. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s Sep 14, 2022 motion to vacate Adnan Syed’s conviction

  6. Judge Phinn’s September 19, 2022 order on motion to vacate

  7. Attorney General Brian Frosh’s statement re: SA Mosby’s motion to vacate

  8. Attorney General’s fiery response to Adnan Syed’s motion to disqualify AG’s office from representing the state of Maryland in this appeal

  9. More on the feud between the Attorney General and Baltimore City State’s Attorney over the Adnan Syed conviction: “Maryland AG questions integrity of process used to exonerate Adnan Syed,” Maryland Daily Record (10/25/2022) 

  10. Full transcription of prosecutor’s handwritten note which Mosby alleged constituted Brady evidence and more information in this Baltimore Banner story: “Was Adnan Syed Note Misinterpreted?” Baltimore Banner, (11/1/2022) 

  11. Appellant Young Lee’s brief in Lee v. State 

  12. Defendant Adnan Syed’s brief in Lee v. State

  13. 2019 Court of Appeals decision finding ineffective assistance of prior counsel in Adnan Syed’s case, but not enough prejudice to justify a new trial: State v. Syed :: 2019 :: Maryland Court of Appeals Decisions 

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