Over the course of two hours, the soft-spoken and sometimes emotional Adnan Syed meticulously laid out allegations of prosecutorial misconduct on the part of the two attorneys who tried his case in 2000.
"A very close and dear friend of mine, named Hae Lee, she was murdered. I was ultimately charged, taken to trial and wrongfully convicted of that crime," said Syed.
RELATED: New filings from State, Lee in Syed Supreme Court case
He spoke to reporters in the downstairs of his family home and went through a 93 page presentation, going through document by document and calling on the state's Attorney General, Anthony Brown, to look into the case.
The full press conference, can be viewed here:
So the 2 pieces of evidences were emails that proved Kathleen Murphy was included in discussions about the case in 2022 even when she was no longer involved, accusing her of working "behind the scenes" to uphold his conviction, including opposing DNA testing @WMAR2News
— Elizabeth Worthington (@ElizWorthNews) September 19, 2023
Syed says he doesn't just want to clear his name. He wants justice for Lee and her family too. But he says that can't happen until it's proven he was wrongfully convicted. That's why he's calling on the attorney general to investigate his case from start to finish.
"We're asking for as many people as possible to look into this case because we have nothing to hide. On the other hand, they're essentially saying - no more investigation, don't look at anything, just take our word for it - he did it."
Syed went through a history of his case in painstaking detail, providing evidence he says amounts to prosecutorial misconduct.
He accuses former trial prosecutors Kevin Urick and Kathleen Murphy of acting improperly on a number of occasions throughout the years, most notably by failing to disclose evidence that could have impacted the outcome of the trial. That is in fact part of the reason why Syed's conviction was overturned last year.
But today he showed us emails obtained through a public information request. The emails show that Kathleen Murphy, who is now a district judge, was included in discussions about his case in 2022, even after she was no longer involved.
Syed accuses her of "working behind the scenes" to protect the conviction, Urick, and herself, Including by opposing the DNA testing that ultimately exonerated him.
"How in the world would you want to convince a judge not to allow this testing?" he asks.
Syed also accuses her of "secretly" finding a lawyer to represent Lee, and encouraging him to challenge the overturning of the conviction, on the basis of Lee not receiving enough notice to attend the hearing in-person. He accuses Kevin Urich of doing the same thing with Jay Wilds, the prosecution's star witness in the original trial.
"They know how to find an attorney who was willing to mislead the court, provide misleading evidence to the court, to further their interest," Syed said.
We reached out to the Maryland Judiciary for a statement on or from now Judge Kathleen Murphy.
"Judges cannot comment on pending or impending cases," says Bradley Tanner, a spokeperson for the Maryland Courts.
Jennifer Donelan, a spokesperson for Attorney General Brown gave us the following statement, "The Attorney General does not have the authority to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. We are prevented from commenting any further because, as you are aware, we are in the midst of ongoing litigation involving this case.”
Kevin Urick, now a private attorney in Elkton, said in response, "Mr. Syed's desperation appears to grow with each passing day. He has demonized and vilified every witness, investigator, and prosecutor involved in this case. These latest developments follow the pattern he has established as he makes baseless claims."
