Adnan Syed, of “Serial” fame, gets relief from a sentence reduction under Maryland’s Juvenile Restoration Act

I find second-look sentencing provisions so interesting and important because so much can happen after a lengthy sentence is imposed that can justify taking a second look at that sentence.  This reality was on full display in a second-look sentencing decision handed down today in a high profile case in Maryland, and here is part of the Washington Post’s discussion of the ruling and its context:

Adnan Syed, the subject of the “Serial” podcast, will be allowed to remain free after a Baltimore judge on Thursday agreed to effectively reduce his sentence to the time he had already spent in prison.

The ruling from Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer is a crucial victory for Syed in his lengthy legal battle to try to undo his decades-old murder conviction, which drew national attention after the first season of the “Serial” podcast highlighted possible problems with the case.  In her 14-page decision, Schiffer wrote that she concluded Syed was “not a danger to the public and that the interests of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence.” 

Syed was arrested in February 1999, when he was just 17 years old, for the killing of Hae Min Lee, an 18-year-old he had once dated. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to life in prison and fought a lengthy battle for his release….

Syed’s bid to win his freedom had been largely unsuccessful until October 2022, when then-Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby dropped the case, asserting Syed was wrongfully convicted. At the time, Mosby declared “the case is over.” Syed was freed from prison.

But the legal battle continued. Lee’s family appealed the matter, arguing their rights were violated in how the court conducted the critical hearing at which prosecutors asked for the case to be thrown out. In 2023, an appellate court panel sided with them, reinstating Syed’s conviction and ordering a do-over of that hearing. The ruling was upheld by the Maryland Supreme Court the following year.

The passage of time put a new leader in charge of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office: Ivan J. Bates, who late last month withdrew his office’s motion to throw out Syed’s conviction. In a filing, Bates’s office disagreed with Mosby’s assertions that “newly discovered evidence” undermined the jury finding Syed guilty of murder. But Bates indicated he would not seek to have Syed go back to prison, instead joining in his bid for a sentence reduction.

Schiffer resentenced Syed under the Juvenile Restoration Act (JRA), which allows people convicted as an adult for crimes they committed as a minor to seek new sentences. In her ruling, Schiffer noted Syed’s age at the time of the killing and that he had “maintained an outstanding institutional record” while incarcerated, completing 35 programs ranging from stress management to a legal assistance/paralegal certificate. Since his release, the judge noted, Syed had taken care of his parents and in-laws while maintaining a job at Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. But she also noted the pain the legal battle had taken on Lee’s family….

Under the JRA, judges are given 11 factors to consider in weighing whether to reduce a defendant’s sentence. In her opinion, Schiffer walked through them all, describing why they came out six in favor of reduction and five against.

Judge Schiffer’s full 14-page opinion is available at this link.