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Question: What does it mean to be convicted of 1st degree Murder (versus 2nd or 3rd)?

Answer: “First degree murder is the most serious of all homicide charges. It applies to situations in which someone is accused of killing another person after having planned to kill the victim. It requires malice (evil intent) and forethought (planning).” Second degree is when a person intentionally killed another, but it wasn’t planned. This is usually considered a “crime of passion.” One could convicted of manslaughter or justifiable homicide.

Source Info: HG.org, no author, 2018

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what are the different types of criminal homicide?

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What Are the Different Types of Criminal Homicide? - HG.org

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Homicide is the taking of a human life. Every state in the US has its own unique classifications of homicide, but these classifications generally fall into three general categories. Those general cate

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William Fimple- Why was Jay not convicted of covering up murder or being an accomplice to murder after telling police he helped bury the body?

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William Fimple- Why was Jay not convicted of covering up murder or being an accomplice to murder after telling police he helped bury the body?

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Jay could have been charged with up to 5 years for helping cover up the murder and not coming forward sooner but the judge didn't give him any time because of his cooperation Source: Reddit thread comments

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Did Jay lie to protect himself from going to jail?
Jay could have lied to protect himself from going to jail for several reasons, including selling drugs, and helping bury Hae’s body. Also, in the time that Jay was talking to the cops without it being recorded, they could have pressured him to come up with something, hence why the story changes so often: “Police and prosecutors frequently use the death penalty as a bargaining chip ‘Flip and testify against your buddy or else you’re going to dry!’ Avoiding an execution is a pretty major incentive for a witness to lie. This practice causes wrongful convictions” (Sister Helen Prejean, Twitter 2017). After seeing this, Rabia commented back, “This is why Jay lied #FreeAdnan”. Many people believe that Jay lied to save himself from getting in trouble. Jay had to change his story a few times in order for it to be believable, most likely just so he wouldn’t get prosectuted. The cops may have got him to come up with something because they needed a case and they knew they could pressure him into one. (Twitter)

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Kaitlin Deal- Adnan's Behavior in Prison 

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Kaitlin Deal- Adnan's Behavior in Prison 

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Episode 9 of "Serial" actually discusses Adnan's behavior in prison. Sarah Koenig said on Reddit.com "Adnan sent [her] a stack of copies, 21 different certificates and awards for completing this program or helping with that activity" (Reddit.com). The Reddit thread also discusses how he helps make breakfast for the members of the prisons breakfast club. This is all evidence of Adnan's good behavior and makes the audience think what Rabia stated "think about what he could have been" (Reddit.com). However, the Reddit thread user also researched other prisoners behavior and came across a paper by Dubash RE, Dubash RP, and Cavanagh K. The paper mentioned states "Prison staff often say that intimate partner murders are well adjusted, 'model' prisoners" (Reddit.com). Because Adnan is known for the murder of an ex-girlfriend it makes him fall under the intimate partner murders. This paper does not help his case, but his good behavior could also just be his good personality.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/serialpodcast/comments/3z9lil/adnan_portrait_of_a_model_prisoner/

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Why wasn't Jay convicted of anything?

Jay was convicted of helping conceal a murder but ended up never having any jail time. "Jay wasn't convicted of helping with the murder (accessory). He was convicted of helping conceal a murder that had already taken place (accessory after the fact)."
(Reddit)

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What does it mean to get a 30 and life sentence?

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What does it mean to get a 30 and life sentence?

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Joseph Kratz
It means that the convicted has a minimum of 30 years in prison without parole. The convicted would have the opportunity to make parole after the 30 years, but if unable they would serve their maximum sentence of life inprisonment.
Study.com

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Adnan’s Post Conviction Relief Hearing - Sarah Misbah 

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Adnan’s Post Conviction Relief Hearing - Sarah Misbah 

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Why did the judge decide to vacate Adnan’s conviction and grant him a new trial during his post-conviction relief hearing in February 2016?

The judge “found that Syed’s late trial attorney didn’t challenge the reliability of some potentially faulty cell-phone tower evidence” and the judge found this to be a “mistake so egregious that it violated Syed’s right to effective counsel”. The judge also mentioned that Adnan’s attorney’s failure to contact a potential alibi witness, Asia McClain, created a “reasonable probability of a different verdict”. This info was from the Huffington Post article “‘Serial’ Subject Adnan Syed: 4 Key Piece of Evidences Explained” published July 1, 2016

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Question: Why is Jay's testimony credible to Adnan's case?

Answer: Jay knew inside information about Hae's death that only someone involved in the murder would know. Jay also inserts himself in the crime by confessing his involvement in the murder. Also, Jay knew where Hae's car was. This gives Jay extreme credibility because it proves that he was someone with true knowledge about this crime. Jay also knew where Hae's body was buried in Leakin part and the tools like shovels that were used to bury her. Jay also had no motive to accuse Adnan of killing Hae and did not have a good reason to even kill Hae. Although Jay often lied during most of his interviews and often clashed his stories with others, Jay proved to be a credible source of information in Adnan's case.

Source: Redit User

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Could there have been a third party who had a key part in the murder of Hae?

Accoridng to a reddit thread, there is a theory thay Jay helped someone else with the murder, rather than Adnan. The third party would be someone close to Jay, a relative.  In this theory, Jay was protecting this close relative by testifying against Adnan. I found this interesting because if this theory could be proven, Adnan would have a better chance of getting out of jail and being proven innocent.

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What Additional Crime(s) did Adnan commit to get a life sentence plus 30 years? - Matthew Mourning

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What Additional Crime(s) did Adnan commit to get a life sentence plus 30 years? - Matthew Mourning

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In addition to first degree murder, Adnan was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery.
(Wikipedia, December 22, 2017)

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Dukleski- “When does double jeopardy come into play?”

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Dukleski- “When does double jeopardy come into play?”

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“Jeopardy” (being able to be found guilty of a certain crime) ends when…

>>> A jury finds the defendant innocent (acquitted by verdict)

>>> A jury is silent on half of a two offense charge (found guilty for breaking & entering in a case about breaking & entering and first degree murder) (acquitted by implication)

>>> A dismissal *may* imply double jeopardy

>>> Illegal technicalities (illegal search and seizure, etc)

Anything that threatens this (mainly trying a defendant for the same crime twice) will be considered a double jeopardy and is illegal. This law exists to keep the justice system from preying on citizens and trying to frame them for crimes they may not have committed.

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Question: How were detectives able to figure out exactly when Hae was murdered when she was not found until many weeks later?
Answer: (from a reddit thread) There is no solid proof that Hae was murdered at 2:36 pm on January 13th, but since the story that Jay tells police somewhat proves that Adnan killed her around this time, the police went with it and arrested Adnan. The detectives just assumed that Hae was killed around that time on that day since that’s when she went missing. Overall, it is extremely unfair that Adnan was arrested since there was no solid evidence, but they had to arrest someone, and Adnan seemed to be the best target.

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Q: How many prisoners are estimated to be wrongly convicted?
A: According to the Huffington Post, an estimated 2-5% of prisoners in the U.S. were wrongly accused of a crime and did not deserve the prisone time they recieved.

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Jay said it took him and Adnan 15-20 minutes to dig a 6-7 inch deep hole. Why did it take them so long? (Luke Stockl

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Jay said it took him and Adnan 15-20 minutes to dig a 6-7 inch deep hole. Why did it take them so long? (Luke Stockl

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The first six inches is the easy part, it's practically one chip of the shovel. It's also pretty useless with regard to burying a body. Yet, it may have taken longer due to a lot of loose stuff around, such as twigs, leaves, and other debris. It still should not have taken that long with these given conditions. Therefore, it all comes down to effort, tools, and/or incorrect details provided by Jay.

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Trey Sullivan - Could Jay have killed Hae

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Trey Sullivan - Could Jay have killed Hae

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The entire premise for the Serial Podcast is that, at the very least, Adnan should not have been convicted for murder, and he may be innocent. If this is the case, most people would have to nake the logical jump that Jay was the real killer, as he admitted to being involved in the crime; but could he have done it?

A theory presented by the Reddit user "imsupersuperserial" states that it is a possibility. The theory goes along the lines of Jay killing Hae, but not being able to finding a way out of taking the balme, so he twists the truth and involves Adnan more. The multiple calls to Jenn on Adnan's phone is a sign
of Jay's worrying, and Jay finally tells Jenn that he killed Hae after her body was buried. Jenn tried to lessen his sentence in court with stories defending Jay, hence the inconsistenci w between everyone. The thing missing from this theory, however, is a motive for Jay.
Source - (Reddit) https://www.reddit.com/r/serialpodcast/comments/2n15kb/how_jay_killed_hae_with_adnan_none_the_wiser/?st=JCJ37S19&sh=740fd7db

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Richie Vann- was the legal system against Muslims pre 9/11

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Richie Vann- was the legal system against Muslims pre 9/11

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The answer is yes and no. There is no solid proof that musilms specifically were targeted but people with brown skin were more likely to be tried and proven guilty in the 90s than they are now. However after 9/11, hate crime scene against Muslims have risen greatly and there is a nation wide fear of the religion and its people. It isn’t clear if the color of Adnans skin affected his trial. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/9-11-anniversary/hope-despair-being-muslim-america-after-9-11-n645451

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Nasir Brown - Why was Adnan’s first trial deemed a mistrial? 

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Nasir Brown - Why was Adnan’s first trial deemed a mistrial? 

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Exhibit 31 was the exhibit that led to the mistrial at Adnan’s first trial. This had been presented by prosecutors as an authenticated copy of AT&T’s business records, the documents that were authenticated by AT&T had been substituted for a different and unauthenticated copy of the records, from which all fax information had been removed. How ever, in the document submitted as Exhibit 31, the fax header has been removed, and the entire page has been repositioned so that the text is angled correctly. In switching an authenticated copy of the phone records for an unauthenticated copy, the prosecution may very well have been motivated by expediency rather than strategy.

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Michael Goldberg - How did it take Adnan and Jay 20 minutes to dig a six inch hole

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Michael Goldberg - How did it take Adnan and Jay 20 minutes to dig a six inch hole

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According to sources on Reddit, it should not have taken them more than ten minutes at the most. One person digging a six inch hole (likely six feet long and one and a half feet wide) should take between 200 and 300 seconds. However, due to the ground being frozen and the two of them being high, it is possible that it took them slightly longer than the expected 300 seconds.

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Why was Jay, a drug dealer, spending a lot of the day that Hae was murdered looking for weed?

Jay has said a variety of things about his level of involvement in the drug trade including that he ran a drug operation, and that he just produced enough pot to smoke with his friends. The fact that he didn’t have a phone, car, or pager leads to a smaller role in the drug trade. Many kids work for on the drug trade by giving drugs to a customer while not handeling any money; this was done to manipulate a loophole in drug laws to lower the sentences for people that were caught. If Jay had a role like this, it would explain why Jay does not have a car or phone, and why he was out buying weed, as he didn’t grow anything himself.

Sources:

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Q: Do Hae's parents believe Adnan murdered their daughter?

A: According to a. Cosmopolitan article, the parents spoke out about the case for the first time around the time of the retrial. They said it was "more clear than ever" that Adnan was guilty. They are insistent on his guilt.

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What is going on with Adnan's retrial. Zaki Muhammad

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What is going on with Adnan's retrial. Zaki Muhammad

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As of June 2017, it is said that the retrial still needs to happen but is definitely going to happen. Adnan's lawers are questioning why the cell phone call logs and Jay's story are still being used against him even though they aren't solid evidence. His lawyers are calling for a retrial and the judge actually allowed it, so they dropped his past convictions and reopening the case.

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A resolution in the murder case popularized in the "Serial" podcast could be more than a year away, after the state's second-highest court agreed Wednesday to hear an appeal of an order granting Adnan Syed a new trial.

The Court of Special Appeals will hear arguments in the appeal in June, Chief Judge Peter B. Krauser wrote in an order issued Wednesday. The court typically takes months to issue a ruling, and that ruling could then be appealed to the state's highest court.

"We're disappointed this will get dragged out longer," Syed's lead attorney, C. Justin Brown, said in a statement. "But we're confident Adnan will eventually get the new trial he deserves."

Syed was convicted of murdering ex-girlfriend and Woodlawn High School classmate Hae Min Lee in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison.

His claims of innocence were featured in "Serial," the most downloaded podcast of all time, and gave rise to a hearing in which his attorneys raised questions about evidence in the case.

Judge Martin Welch overturned Syed's conviction in June and ordered a new trial. Welsh said Syed's original trial team should have raised questions about cellphone tower evidence.

The state attorney general's office, which argued against a new trial, filed an appeal in early August, and Syed's attorneys filed a conditional appeal, arguing that they should also be able to raise issues if the state's appeal was taken up.

Krauser did not set a hearing date, but said arguments would be heard during the June session.

Syed has remained in prison since he was granted a new trial. Brown argued for Syed's release on bail, saying in court filings that the appeals process could take years and that Syed has shown he is a good candidate for release pending a new trial.

Welch denied a request for a bail hearing in December, saying that "there is still compelling evidence" against Syed.
jfenton@baltsun.com

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Appeals court takes up 'Serial' case, could extend resolution by a year or more

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A resolution in the murder case popularized in the "Serial" podcast could be more than a year away, after the state's second-highest court agreed Wednesday to hear an appeal of an order granting Adnan Syed a new trial. The Court of Special Appeals will hear arguments in the appeal in June, Chief Judge Peter B.

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How does Rabia's constant involvement in Adnan's case (still to this day) help Adnan's chance of being exonerated?

Rabia is still very involved with the case. She tweets just about every day, whether it's a thread explaining the case or a link to her book, telling Adnan's story. She may be so persistent because she is a family friend of Adnan's, or simply because she is so appalled at the justice system flaws. So far, Rabia has not had any success in helping Adnan directly (with his exoneration). However, she has been raising awareness of the case and the justice system's unfair treatment through her twitter profile. She is verified on twitter with over 100,000 followers. She receives many replies to her tweets about Adnan, mostly from those who are on her side and want to help him be freed. #FreeAdnan (Source: Twitter)

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Did Jay have a criminal record before he was interviewed by the police? - Tyler DeMaise

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Did Jay have a criminal record before he was interviewed by the police? - Tyler DeMaise

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Jay's claim of being the "criminal element" in town seems to hold true as he was charged on two occasions with 2nd Degree Assault of a police officer. However, both cases were dropped simply because he never actually physically interacted with the officers; they more or less just charged him because he was being annoying and wanted to ruin his day. (Reddit.com)