BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office has expressed its support for Adnan Syed's petition to reduce his sentence related to the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, his former girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School.
Syed's legal team submitted a motion in December 2024, invoking a Maryland law that permits individuals who were convicted of crimes committed as minors and have served at least 20 years to seek a sentence modification.
In its filing, the State's Attorney's Office argued that Syed was only 17 at the time of the crime and requested that the court hold a hearing to consider modifying his life sentence, suggesting that it be suspended to time served with probation.
Despite being released from prison in 2022 after prosecutors identified significant flaws in the trial evidence, Syed's attorneys indicated last month that he remains anxious about the possibility of being returned to prison.
On the other hand, Hae Min Lee's family has voiced their opposition to Syed's request. Their attorney filed a motion urging the court to delay any decision on the sentence reduction until the state clarifies whether it intends to vacate Syed's conviction.
The family's lawyer emphasized that the primary concern should be whether new evidence exists that undermines the integrity of Syed's conviction. They argue that as it stands, Syed remains a convicted murderer, and any discussions regarding a sentence reduction should not proceed until this issue is addressed.
In August 2024, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling to reinstate Syed's conviction, citing that Lee's family did not receive adequate notice of the vacatur hearing that led to Syed's release.
Reported by HarborBeat based on CBS News (source).
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