Judge formally sentences Adnan Syed to time served in 'Serial' podcast case

Source: Associated Press

Judge formally sentences Adnan Syed to time served in ‘Serial’ podcast case

By BRIAN WITTE
Updated 2:39 PM EDT, March 14, 2025

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland judge formally sentenced Adnan Syed on Friday to the time he’s already served in prison, appearing to finally bring to a close a long-running case with numerous legal twists and turns that received worldwide attention from the true-crime podcast “Serial.”

Judge Jennifer Schiffer had already decided that Syed would remain free in a written ruling last week, even though his conviction in the murder of his ex-girlfriend in 1999 when they were in high school still stands.

Syed’s sentence was modified under a relatively new state law that provides a pathway to release for people convicted of crimes committed when they were minors. The modified sentence includes five years of supervised probation.

At a brief hearing in Baltimore, Schiffer modified his probationary conditions slightly to enable him to travel to Washington, D.C., and Virginia, without seeking specific permission from a probation agent. Syed, 43, has a job at Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. He also has family in Virginia.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/serial-podcast-adnan-syed-sentenced-c12468a976dfbf4e3a3eb6c229c54178