OA719: Serial's Adnan Syed & the Elected Prosecutor: A Match Made in Baltimore
Added 2023-04-04 07:25:12 +0000 UTCOn the cusp of Former President Donald Trump's arraignment, Liz and Andrew break down the recent Maryland Appellate Court's decision in Lee v. Maryland concerning Adnan Syed and the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office decision to petition to vacate his conviction and drop all charges against him. What's really going on? Why have so many media outlets gotten this wrong?? Listen and find out!
This is an unpaid post on Patreon.
Notes
OA 107
https://openargs.com/oa107-adnan-syed-obviously-also-can-learn-patents/
OA 633
https://openargs.com/oa633-why-adnan-was-released/
Lee v. Maryland
https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/cosa/2023/1291s22.pdf
Md. Code, Crim. Pro. Art., § 8-301.1
https://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2021/criminal-procedure/title-8/subtitle-3/section-8-301-1/
Md. Code, Crim. Proc. § 11-102
https://casetext.com/statute/code-of-maryland/article-criminal-procedure/title-11-victims-and-witnesses/subtitle-1-general-provisions/part-i-definitions-rights-available-throughout-proceedings/section-11-102-victims-right-to-attend-proceedings
Comments
In contrast to the first few Syed episodes, this one did not raise my blood pressure. Well done!
Michael
2023-04-05 21:41:05 +0000 UTCObviously, I think it is pretty clear he is almost certainly innocent based on the facts of the case, but I am honestly curious why the hosts believe Mosby used the case as political grandstanding if the motion wasn't filed (September '22) until after she had lost the primary (July '22). I know Liz lives in Baltimore, so I am curious - was Mosby running ads regarding Syed or making statements prior to the election? Otherwise, I am not sure how the motion to vacate helps her political ambitions when she was already not getting elected to another term.
Eric Stratton
2023-04-04 18:30:48 +0000 UTCDoes it matter that he was 17 years old?
Judy Pace
2023-04-04 17:20:41 +0000 UTCSorry for the essay, also bear with me here, recovery from conservatism is a lifelong endeavor. The issue of Adnan Syed is one of those things that tests my progressive credentials because as Andrew said, it feels more likely than not that he did it (which is not enough), and while the Wilds testimony is deeply sus, the motive attributed is a temper tantrum because a girl broke up with him. And like... That'll probably happen again in his free life. And going to prison for decades is not noted for having a calming effect on one's temper, so there's a little animal part of me THAT I'M VERY NOT PROUD OF that feels uncomfortable just... *letting him go* from a public safety perspective. I don't like retributive justice any more than you, but that's the system we have, until we change it. And again, I'm *not* proud of having that reaction. I know it's based in some pretty conservative thinking. But then, I look at my culture (Judaism) and I see the same is true of the mitzvot. They're extremely conservative in some places. But I always say that (as a matter of folklore, I'm very agnostic on the actual existence of an actual god) Yaakov was blessed because he didn't accept an unacceptable answer just because it came from G-d. We're meant to wrestle with conservative impulses in the law and use it as a way to be kinder. The sages looked at our mitzvot, and added rules until they were able to proclaim that a court that executes a man once every 70 years is a killing court. I take from that simply that we're meant to wrestle those impulses and wring compassion and progress out of them. SO. That significant aside, well, aside, I think there's an opportunity to inject the barest whisp of reparative justice into this situation. Whether or not Syed killed Lee is irrelevant. What was done to him in retribution was traumatic. So, as a condition of release, I feel like the court should mandate (and furnish) a psychological diagnostic exam and mandate and furnish therapy for PTSD caused by getting sent to prison for a crime he might not have committed, and whatever else such an exam may find. And it should be explicitly stated that this is a good faith effort to address the harms that have been brought to and caused by the court. Because Liz is 100% correct: no one should spend their lives in prison for something they did as a child, and anyway the prison system is cruel and in its current form should be abolished. The best way to stop criminal behavior is to address the underlying causes of that behavior, be it economic (as it largely is), psychological (as it rarely is), or sociological (which relates more to systemic economic injustices and the systems that reinforce them, and is not a jab at Syed or Lee's conservative upbringings); not meting out sadistic punishments and hoping for the best.
The MILF Formerly Known as Tzippi
2023-04-04 15:30:55 +0000 UTCGreat episode while we wait for the arraignment ceremony. I’d love to have a thoughtful discussion about the true crime genre with Liz.
Aran Jackson
2023-04-04 12:49:43 +0000 UTCI am indeed that one person in the country who never listened to Serial!
Entropy Manor
2023-04-04 10:49:01 +0000 UTC
