BALTIMORE — Friday marked what might be the potential final hearing in the Adnan Syed saga.
A Baltimore judge officially imposed a reduced sentence for Adnan Syed to time served, followed by five years of supervised release.
This means he does not have to return to prison.
During Friday's probation hearing, Syed was also granted permission to travel to DC and Virginia for both work and family.
Judge Jennifer Schiffer noted that Syed technically has 30 days to appeal.
Syed was convicted in 2000 of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
He's maintained his innocence and was released from prison in 2022 after prosecutors uncovered problems with the case and moved to vacate his conviction, which was later reinstated on appeal.
Young Lee, Hae Min Lee's brother, argued his victim's rights were violated because he hadn't been given enough time to attend the hearing in person.
That case came all the way through to the state's supreme court, where a new vacatur hearing was ordered.
However, State's Attorney Ivan Bates withdrew the vacatur motion, just before the motion to reduce Syed's sentence was heard, meaning his conviction will continue to stand.
Before that happened, Syed applied for sentence reduction under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
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The law allows for incarcerated individuals who were convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, to apply for sentence reduction after having served 20 years in prison.
Since his release, Syed's been working at Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative and caring for aging family members.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Schiffer ended by saying, "I hope, Mr. Syed, and I trust, that this will be the last time we see each other. Otherwise, I don't have to tell you the amount of time that's hanging over your head."
