PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In the roughly 10 years since I began publishing The Charles Smith Blog some of the issues I have explored - as well as some of the cases I have been following - have become the subject matter of books. This prompted me recently - as I searched anxiously for ways of keeping me occupied during the languid summer hours - other than sitting on the patio, drinking a cool glass of white wine, and reading the latest Steven King - it occurred to me that a book review series based in my previous posts from the outset of the Blog would be just what the pathologist ordered. I would invite my readers to offer me their own suggestions for inclusion by email to hlevy15@gmail.com. Have a great summer.
Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Syed was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, but Chaudry's basic assumption is that someone else must have. Her book is critical of every move made by the police and court system. Even the man who found Lee's body isn't safe from scrutiny: She makes note of his arrest record for indecent exposure and includes crimes committed more than a decade after the murder took place. Syed's case has been back in the news: In June he was granted a new trial based on questions about cellphone-tower evidence, and in July the state of Maryland announced that it intends to fight that ruling. As "Serial" listeners will remember, cellphone-tower pings were what confirmed the state's timeline of the day Lee was murdered. Publisher St. Martin's Press says the book will include a letter from the author with her reaction to the news of Syed's conviction being vacated (but the story may be moving too fast for them to keep up). The cell tower records are addressed at length in the book, along with more information "Serial" listeners never learned."
STORY: "The book 'Adnan's Story' and what it tells us about 'Serial,' by Jessica Roy, published by The L.A. Times on August 4, 2016.
SUB-HEADING: "Rabia Chaudry, who first brought the story of Adnan Syed to the attention of "Serial" producers, has written a book with more details about the case and the podcast. (St. Martin's Press)"
GIST: "Rabia Chaudry is a woman on a mission. She's the one who approached "This American Life" producer Sarah Koenig about Adnan Syed, who was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit. That story turned into "Serial," the podcast mega-hit that debuted in 2014. The first season, which took an intense look at Syed's case, has been downloaded more than 80 million times. Chaudry is a longtime friend of the Syed family who is convinced of Adnan's innocence. After "Serial" ended, Rabia Chaudry co-hosted her own podcast, "Undisclosed." Now we have her new book, "Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After 'Serial.'" The first half of the book focuses on the details of the investigation and court proceedings. It is rather dense and at times reads like an attorney case file — not surprising because Chaudry is a lawyer. Syed was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, but Chaudry's basic assumption is that someone else must have. Her book is critical of every move made by the police and court system. Even the man who found Lee's body isn't safe from scrutiny: She makes note of his arrest record for indecent exposure and includes crimes committed more than a decade after the murder took place. Syed's case has been back in the news: In June he was granted a new trial based on questions about cellphone-tower evidence, and in July the state of Maryland announced that it intends to fight that ruling. As "Serial" listeners will remember, cellphone-tower pings were what confirmed the state's timeline of the day Lee was murdered. Publisher St. Martin's Press says the book will include a letter from the author with her reaction to the news of Syed's conviction being vacated (but the story may be moving too fast for them to keep up). The cell tower records are addressed at length in the book, along with more information "Serial" listeners never learned. A few of the major surprises:
1) Syed was almost exonerated after his first trial. The
first trial ended in a mistrial because of a lawyer's mistake. Members
of that first jury later said they would most likely have found him not
guilty.
2) The investigating detectives had a habit of going after the wrong guy.
Chaudry goes over three other cases involving the same police
detectives that ended with innocent men being incarcerated and later
exonerated. The cases shared a number of similarities to Syed's.
3) Islamophobia played a big part in the state's case. A
large portion of the book focuses on the role Syed's religion played
in his life and in the investigation. Chaudry contends that the police
and the state attorney's office relied on a number of untrue and ugly
stereotypes about Islam to make their case against Syed, some of which
were unfortunately repeated in "Serial."
'Serial' had taken what seemed like a routine state-level homicide case and made it something mythical, magical.
4) "Serial" wasn't the story Chaudry wanted to tell: Part
of what made the podcast so enthralling was how it explored Syed's
case from the side of someone who wasn't sure if he did it or not. Even
by the last episode, Koenig confessed she couldn't conclusively assert
his innocence. While that was exciting for listeners, who tuned in every
week to find out more twists and turns, this was incredibly painful for
Chaudry (and Syed's family, and Syed himself) to listen to. She had
hoped "Serial" would tell Syed's story as one of an innocent man
wronged, as opposed to putting him on trial all over again. It led to a
number of heated exchanges between Koenig and Chaudry, including at
least one shouting match. The
detailed, documentary nature of "Serial" made it seem like listeners
were hearing all the facts; in bringing up these fights that never made
it into the podcast, Chaudry's book shows us how the producers were also
shaping the story.
5) Jay Wilds had at least one possible motive: "Serial" listeners
noted Wilds was the only person ever directly connected to Lee's
murder. He came to the police and showed them where her missing car had
been stashed and was the state's star witness in implicating Syed.
Podcast listeners argued back and forth online that, despite all that,
Wilds lacked a motive to kill Lee. According to "Adnan's Story,"
there was one: Wilds was cheating on his girlfriend, and Lee knew about
it and had threatened to tell her.
6) But Wilds may have not been connected to the case at all: Toward
the end of the book, Chaudry uncovers evidence suggesting Wilds was
heavily pressured by the police into testifying against Syed and that
everything he said — including the location of Lee's car — was invented
by investigators to prop up their case. It
was easy to forget, listening to "Serial," that it was a true story
about real people. "Adnan's Story" adds context and humanizes it in a
way that could change how you think about the case, and about
"Serial" itself."
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For an update on the Syed case read the Wikipedia entry at the link below: "Trials and appeals: Syed's family hired defense attorney Cristina Gutierrez to represent him. During Syed's first trial, jurors accidentally overheard a sidebar dispute between Gutierrez and the presiding judge in which the judge referred to Gutierrez as a "liar".[15] After learning that the jury had heard his characterization, the judge declared a mistrial. A second trial lasted six weeks and Syed was found guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery on February 25, 2000.[16] Syed was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.[17] Adnan made a Direct Appeal in 2003 which was unsuccessful, and later made an appeal for Post Conviction Relief in 2010[18] based on inadequate assistance of counsel including that Gutierrez did not investigate Asia McClain as an alibi witness; this appeal was denied in 2013[19]. On February 6, 2015, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals approved Syed's application for leave to appeal ("leave" meaning "permission").[20] On May 19, 2015, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals remanded the case to Circuit Court for potential hearing on the admissibility of alibi testimony of Asia McClain, who said she was talking with Syed in the library at the exact time the prosecutor said Syed attacked Lee in a Best Buy parking lot several miles away.[21] On November 9, 2015, the Superior Court decided it would hear the case.[22] According to Sarah Koenig's investigation as told in Serial, McClain's account of her encounter with Syed on the day of the disappearance would have been helpful for Syed during his trial.[20] Syed's appeals lawyer Justin Brown said that new evidence about the reliability of incoming call data from AT&T is suspect and should be reviewed by an appeals court, stating, "the cell tower evidence was misleading and should have never been admitted at trial."[23] On November 6, 2015, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch ordered that Syed's post-conviction relief proceedings, which determines if he deserves a new trial, would be re-opened "in the interests of justice for all parties."[24] The post-conviction relief hearing, originally scheduled to last two days, lasted five days from February 3 – 9, 2016.[25] The hearing was attended by people from across the U.S., including Koenig, and McClain testified that she talked to Syed at the library on January 13, 1999.[26] On June 30, 2016, Judge Welch granted Syed's request for a new trial, ruling that Gutierrez "rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state's expert regarding the reliability of cell tower location evidence," vacating Syed's conviction.[27][28] In October 2016, Syed's attorneys requested bail be granted to Syed until the retrial started.[29] On December 29, 2016, Judge Welch denied bail for Syed.[30] On March 29, 2018, the decision to grant Syed a new trial was upheld by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.[31] On May 14, 2018, the State applied to the highest court in Maryland, the Court of Appeals, with a petition for writ of certiorari to make another appeal of the case. Syed's defense has filed an opposition[32] and the Court is likely to decide if they will hear the case within 6 to 8 weeks of the appeal."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hae_Min_Lee
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PUBLISHING INFORMATION:
By Rabia Chaudry
St. Martin's Press: 416 pp., $26.99
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/
