Prosecutors have dropped costs in opposition to Adnan Syed – the topic of the hit podcast Serial – three weeks after his homicide conviction was overturned.
It follows an extra spherical of DNA testing, a lawyer with information of proceedings mentioned.
Mr Syed, now 41, was sentenced to life in jail in 2000 for the alleged homicide of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee. He was 18 on the time.
A decide in Baltimore overturned his conviction on 19 September after prosecutors mentioned two different attainable suspects had not been disclosed to the defence at trial.
After being launched, Mr Syed was positioned in home detention with GPS monitoring.
Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn gave prosecutors 30 days to retry him or drop the fees.
On Tuesday, the town of Baltimore’s state’s legal professional’s workplace confirmed it had dropped its case in opposition to him.
Lawyer Laura Nirider, who accompanied Mr Syed when he walked out of jail final month, mentioned he had been “formally exonerated”.
Ms Nirider, co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, tweeted: “Breaking news: After the latest round of DNA testing generated results that, like previous rounds of testing, excluded Adnan Syed, he has now been formally exonerated!”
Last week, courtroom papers had been filed supporting an enchantment by Ms Lee’s household.
While they don’t seem to be difficult Mr Syed’s launch, they need the decide to carry one other listening to to allow them to deal with the courtroom, lawyer Steve Kelly mentioned.
Mr Syed, who has maintained his innocence for many years, got here to public consideration in 2014 in the course of the debut season of Serial.
Doubts had been raised about a few of the proof utilized in his case, together with knowledge from cell phone masts.
The further suspects had been recognized on the time of the unique investigation and weren’t correctly dominated out nor disclosed to the defence, prosecutors mentioned.
New data confirmed one of many suspects was convicted of partaking in serial rape and sexual assault, they added.
Source: information.sky.com”