On Thursday, the City of Baltimore announced that the subject of the “Serial” podcast, Adnan Syed, will be getting a new trial after serving 16 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
Many fans of Serial see the ruling as justice served for a young man whose life was taken from him before it began.
But that’s not the way the family of Hae Min Lee sees it.
Since the podcast debuted in 2014, Lee’s family has denounced the series as an inaccurate portrayal of real life events.
In February, during Syed’s hearing for a new trial, Lee’s family released a statement, saying the hearing has “reopened wounds that few can imagine.”
"It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Hae," Lee’s family said. “Unlike those who learn about this case on the internet, we sat and watched every day of both trials – so many witnesses, so much evidence”.
The court’s decision to grant Syed a new trial was largely based on the testimony of Asia McClain, a friend of Syed who wrote him a letter claiming she had an alibi for him. The Lee family statement also addressed her testimony.
“We wish Ms. Asia McClain had watched [the trials] too, because then she would not do what she is doing … Whatever her personal motives, we forgive her, but we hope she will not use Hae’s name in public, which hurts us when we hear it from her,” said the family in a statement. “She did not know Hae, and because of Adnan, she never will.”
Though Lee’s family has stayed largely silent since the release of the Serial podcast (reporter Sarah Koenig could not reach any of the family for comment throughout the podcast’s run), a man claiming to be Lee’s brother took to Reddit in November 2014 to share his thoughts.
TO ME ITS REAL LIFE. To you listeners, its another murder mystery, crime drama, another episode of CSI. You weren't there to see your mom crying every night, having a heartattck when she got the new that the body was found, and going to court almost everyday for a year seeing your mom weeping,crying and fainting. You don't know what we went through. Especially to those who are demanding our family response and having a meetup... you guys are disgusting. SHame on you. I pray that you don't have to go through what we went through and have your story blasted to 5mil listeners.
