The mother of a teenage girl who at the age of 14 fell into the hands of sex traffickers is suing the Virginia school district she blames for her daughter&#8217;s trauma and the government lawyer who interfered with her efforts to return the girl home.
Officials at Appomattox County Public Schools concealed Sage Blair’s gender transition from her parents and hid the fact that she was being bullied over dressing like a boy, <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Complaint-as-filed-082323.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the lawsuit</a> filed in federal court on Tuesday by Michelle Blair. The events and secrecy led to Sage running away from her rural Virginia home, only to be captured by a sex trafficker and taken to Baltimore, Maryland, where she was held in a locked room and raped by multiple men, the lawsuit said.
But the girl&#8217;s saga didn&#8217;t end there. When the FBI recovered her, a Baltimore public defender named Aneesa Khan — a target of the lawsuit — worked to keep the girl in Maryland until her parents accepted her gender transition. The mother had not refused to accept her child’s transition because she did not even know about it, but Khan threw away the letters that Michelle Blair was sending her and led the girl to believe that she had been abandoned by her parents, the lawsuit said.
The 14 year old rape victim was put in a Baltimore group home with teenage boys and &#8220;told by Khan that her parents no longer wanted her, and that Khan was going to arrange for [her] to live with a family in Maryland who would affirm her as a boy,&#8221; the lawsuit states.
Even after a judge said that it would be illegal under the Interstate Compact on Juveniles to refuse to return the girl to Virginia, the girl remained in Baltimore while Khan appealed. She was only returned to her Virginia home after she ran away from the Maryland facilities and was abducted by a man who brought her to Texas, where she was again raped and tortured, according to the lawsuit. Officials in Texas, unlike Maryland, promptly returned her to her parents, the lawsuit said.
<h1>She was sex-trafficked again until she was recovered in Texas, which unlike Maryland, promptly returned her to her loving parents, the lawsuit said.</h1>
Khan went to great lengths to keep Sage in Maryland. After the judge stated that there were no grounds to keep her from home, Khan enlisted two counselors from the Appomattox school to accuse Michelle Blair of child abuse in Virginia, an attempt to get her child taken from her, even though none of them had ever spoken to Michelle, the lawsuit states.
Michelle was herself a certified foster home volunteer who had been extensively vetted, and Appomattox deemed the charges unsubstantiated.
Melissa Rothstein, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender — whose email signature includes her pronouns — returned a request for comment from The Daily Wire only by expressing concern for the safety of the lawyer, Khan.
&#8220;We remain concerned for her safety and caution against including personal identifying information or photo, which could reignite and expand these threats,&#8221; Rothstein said.
School board members in the conservative area of rural Virginia, including chair Bobby Waddell and vice chair Wyatt Torrence, have failed to respond to The Daily Wire’s requests for comment on the case. The board has not yet adopted Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-replaces-democrats-mandatory-transgender-policy-with-parents-rights-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Model Policies </a>on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students in Virginia Public Schools, which would bar schools from transitioning students without their parents&#8217; approval, though they discussed them August 17, according to board minutes.
Superintendent Annette A. Bennett did not return a request for comment on behalf of herself or counselors Dena Olsen and Avery Via, who are also named in the lawsuit.
In January, Virginia state Republican lawmakers introduced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-republican-moves-to-ban-calling-misgendering-child-abuse-after-girl-is-kept-from-her-parents-for-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage&#8217;s Law</a>, which would bar counselors from hiding a student&#8217;s gender transition from her parents; block counselors from encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents; and ensuring that laws on child abuse cannot be interpreted as including parents who don’t affirm a child’s gender transition. The Republican-led House passed the law, but the Democrat-led Senate <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+HB2432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed it</a>.
The <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Complaint-as-filed-082323.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> seeks “to recover damages for tortious interference with the parent-child relationship, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, professional malpractice, and other rights under Virginia law.”
“Deprived of her parents’ care and treatment as a result of Appomattox Defendants’ conduct, S.B. feared continuing harassment and assaults at school and threats from schoolmates to pursue S.B. and her family at home and ran away. She was found by an adult male who kidnapped S.B., drugged and violently raped her in the backseat of his car. It was this man that she lost her virginity to. He then drove her to Washington, D.C. and left her with two men who raped and drugged her again. These two men drove her to Maryland and left her with a registered sex offender. He kept S.B. in a locked room after raping her and trafficking her to other men,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says that the school not only hid the girl&#8217;s gender transition from her parents, but encouraged it. Counselors summoned Sage to discuss her gender eight times during the first 12 days of the 2021-22 school year, the suit said, alleging that the counselors were providing major psychiatric care that they were not qualified or authorized to perform.
“In the sessions, Ms. Olsen encouraged S.B. to ‘embrace’ her male identity. Mr. Via also directed S.B. to internet sites, apps, and social media networks that promoted transgender ideas, indicating she could find friends there,” it said. It added that there was evidence that the counselors did not even review her file, showing existing mental health issues, before encouraging her to live as a boy, and that they did not initiate Title IX investigations, as required, when she was harassed at school.
The girl realized after her traumatic experience that she never was a boy, she told her mother, according to <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/19/virginia-teen-sex-trafficked-twice-after-school-hides-gender-identity-from-her-parents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Federalist</a>. &#8220;I don’t know who I was. I’m a totally different person now. I never was a boy. Everybody was doing it, I just wanted to have friends,&#8221; she said.
The lawsuit charges Khan for failing &#8220;to act in the best interest of her client.&#8221;
“As S.B.’s attorney, Ms. Khan had an obligation to act in the best interest of her client whom she knew to be a citizen and resident of Virginia living with parents in Virginia, and who was present in Maryland only as the result of being sex trafficked across state lines.”
The Daily Wire told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maryland-refused-to-give-back-a-virginia-runaway-because-her-parents-misgendered-her-then-she-was-sex-trafficked-mother-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sage’s heartbreaking story at length in January</a>.

Maryland Assistant Public Defender Aneesa Khan, Appomattox Superintendent Annette A. Bennett, and ACPS Chair Bobby Waddell

Mother of Sex-Trafficked Teen Files Lawsuit After Girl Was Held In Boys Group Home To ‘Affirm’ Her Trans Identity

Baltimore

Education

Maryland

Parental Rights in Education

Rape

Transgender

Virginia

Roughly 36 hours after an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-report-at-least-two-dead-28-injured-in-baltimore-shooting">early Sunday morning shooting</a> at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore">Baltimore</a> block party killed two people and injured 28 others, authorities shared new details about the deadly incident as the search for suspects continues.
During a <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-mass-shooting-update/44419034">press conference</a> on Monday, officials implored people to come forward if they have any relevant information about the mass shooting in the <a href="https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2023-07-02-joint-statement-mass-shooting-brooklyn-homes-south-baltimore">Brooklyn Homes neighborhood</a> and announced a variety of support programs for members of the community in Maryland.
&#8220;We are doing everything in our power to ensure that the horrific violence that occurred this weekend is not repeated either in Brooklyn or in any other neighborhood across Baltimore,&#8221; said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat.
Acting Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley said detectives were interviewing witnesses and reviewing video footage from the &#8220;Brooklyn Day&#8221; celebration that officials estimated to have hundreds of people.
Worley said investigators recovered multiple weapons and casings at the scene. The police chief said anyone who had weapons at the block party, including a young man allegedly seen in social media video footage pulling a semi-automatic gun out of a backpack, is considered a suspect until if and when authorities determine otherwise.
&#8220;Right now, our detectives are still working through interviewing every one of the victims,&#8221; Worley said. &#8220;We will continue to pursue any leads so that&#8217;s why we need the help from the community because we have only touched some of the video that&#8217;s out there. Everyone had had their cameras working and had their phones working and there&#8217;s much more video out there that we have to look at.&#8221;
As of press time, officials have not released a motive nor any identifying information about suspects, but Worley said his department will be making releases to help investigators identify individuals they are seeking to interview.
As seen in a &#8220;Metro Crime Stoppers&#8221; poster issued on Monday, an award of up to $28,000 was being offered with the assistance of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for information leading up to arrests and charges.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Homicide detectives need your help in locating those responsible for the death of 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi and 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup. Metro Crime Stoppers Of Maryland <a href="https://t.co/sP952ABW0V">pic.twitter.com/sP952ABW0V</a>
&mdash; Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaltimorePolice/status/1675907324114874371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The poster also showed photos of the two victims who were killed in the shooting that took place at approximately 12:32 a.m. on Sunday. They have been identified as 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi and 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez.
Among the 28 victims who were wounded, 15 were between the ages of 13 and 17, according to Worley. He said the 13 other injured victims were between the ages of 18 and 32.
Seven victims remain in a hospital and four of them are in critical condition, Scott said during the Monday press conference.
Stefanie Mavronis, interim director of the <a href="https://monse.baltimorecity.gov/about-us-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayor&#8217;s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE)</a>, said she had information indicating some members of her staff deescalated three to four conflicts at the scene earlier in the evening, but she said they were not present at the time of the shooting.
Worley faced multiple questions about why officers were not on the scene at the scene of such a large event. Worley said the event lacked a permit and police did not know it was taking place until hours before the shooting.
The police chief denied that staffing was an issue, insisting that officers could have been moved to that location, and he noted that a review is underway to determine any shortcomings in the response.
Pressed on whether there was poor communication among city officials, Scott said &#8220;We are going to investigate every breakdown &#8230; but what we are not going to do is stand up here and try to make this about some organization&#8217;s decisions, or what they did, or what they did not do.&#8221;
The mayor also characterized gun violence across the United States as a &#8220;public health challenge&#8221; that demands the public&#8217;s focus with &#8220;the same vigor&#8221; that the COVID pandemic received while bemoaning gun trafficking across state lines, &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ghost-guns">ghost guns</a>,&#8221; and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/27/smart-guns-fingerprints-uvalde-teen-suicides/">a lack of</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-smart-guns-finally-arriving-us-seeking-shake-up-firearms-market-2022-01-11/">smart technology on firearms</a>.

Baltimore block party mass shooting

Authorities Share New Details On Baltimore Mass Shooting, Offer $28,000 Reward For Information

Crime

Mass Shooting

U.S.

A shooting in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore">Baltimore</a> community of Brooklyn early Sunday morning killed two people and injured 28 others, according to police, leading to a search for suspects.
At around 12:30 a.m., officers responded to the 800 block of Gretna Court in response to multiple calls of a reported shooting, the Baltimore Police Department said in a <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/news/southern-district-homicide-investigation-2">statement</a>. Local reports indicated there was a <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/mass-shooting-gretna-court-south-baltimore/44407826">block party</a> taking place when the carnage began.
An 18-year-old woman was pronounced dead on the scene and a 20-year-old man was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later, authorities said, while the other 20 victims between the ages of 13 and 32 — including 14 under the age of 18 — made their way to local hospitals.
During a mid-afternoon press conference on Sunday, acting Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley said all but nine injured victims had been released, and a couple of the victims who remain in hospitals were in critical condition.
Officers continue to scour a &#8220;very large crime scene&#8221; with assistance from federal, state, and local partners, Worley added. He said police believe more than one person was responsible for the shooting and urged community members <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/news/southern-district-homicide-investigation-2">to come forward</a> if they have any relevant information, including video footage.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott condemned what he called a &#8220;reckless, cowardly act of violence that has taken two lives and altered many, many more.&#8221; He pledged that authorities will find those responsible for the mass shooting and hold them accountable.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
VIDEO: Baltimore police say 30 people shot at block party this morning range in age from 13 to 32. Two victims have died, another 9 remain hospitalized. No shooter in custody. <a href="https://twitter.com/livenowfox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@livenowfox</a> <a href="https://t.co/y1oIDHRYZx">pic.twitter.com/y1oIDHRYZx</a>
&mdash; Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBreslowTV/status/1675597762254053379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Scott, a Democrat, also said the shooting is a &#8220;glaring, unfortunate example of the deep issues of violence in Baltimore, in Maryland, and this country — particularly gun violence and the access to illegal guns.&#8221;
<a href="https://twitter.com/FOP3/status/1675508968322396160">In a tweet</a>, the Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police said the patrol shirt for the Southern District — <a href="https://www.baltimorepolice.org/find-my-district/southern-district">which includes Brooklyn</a> — was &#8220;working short-handed as usual&#8221; at the time of the shooting. The tweet also pushed for a retention and recruiting plan to <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-city-police-shortage-consent-decree/43593225">address a staffing shortage.</a>
Asked about a lack of a police presence, Worley said the event did not have a permit and pledged that he will investigate what officers did when they found out that there was a large party. &#8220;If we made mistakes, we will fix them and move forward so it never happens again,&#8221; he said.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, released a <a href="https://twitter.com/GovWesMoore/status/1675552099201941504">statement</a> thanking first responders and bemoaning gun violence.
&#8220;The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;We as a state will continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.&#8221;

Mass shooting in Baltimore

Police Report At Least Two Dead, 28 Injured In Baltimore Shooting

Police

Baltimore Police recently released video surveillance of an unidentified male attacking two pro-life advocates in front of a Planned Parenthood last month.
Dick Schafer, 80, and Mark Crosby, 73, were assaulted and injured outside the abortion facility on N. Howard Street. While Schafer reportedly had been recovering at home after the attack, Crosby received treatment for a large hematoma, hyphemia, and head and neck pain at the University of Maryland’s shock trauma facility.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="300 North Howard Street Assault Investigation" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kDMYSWHJuNM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
Central District Detectives released the video on Thursday in a bid to find the person involved in the assault, which occurred on May 26, 2023. The footage shows the unknown suspect, described as a white male with brown hair and a full beard, wearing a gray T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes.
Baltimore authorities told The Daily Wire the investigation is still open and active.
Law enforcement has asked for the public&#8217;s assistance in identifying the suspect, requesting anyone with information to call detectives at 410-396-2411 or Metro Crime Stoppers Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
Local pro-lifer John Roswell said the suspect asked Planned Parenthood “deathscorts” to hold his drink before attacking Schafer, who reportedly had his back turned away from the person at the time of the assault,&#8221; The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-choice-activist-brutally-attacks-two-elderly-pro-life-advocates-outside-baltimore-planned-parenthood-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
At that point, Crosby attempted to assist Schafer but was hit in the face and slammed against the glass of the building, knocking him to the ground and toppling a ceramic planter in the process. The suspect then proceeded to kick Crosby in the head.
Crosby’s “plate bone in his upper right cheek is completely fractured.” He was “bleeding from some unidentified area behind his eye, and the bone eye orbit is completely shattered and will have to be replaced with metal,” Roswell said at the time.
The attack left Crosby’s right eye swollen shut, with blood dripping from his eye socket, forehead, and nose.
Roswell said a nurse from a nearby pro-life pregnancy center rushed over to help the men after a client “screamed” upon witnessing the attack.
Authorities said the suspect could be seen passing Crosby and Schafer before turning around and “having a visibly aggressive conversation” with the 80-year-old victim, CBS reported.
A witness told police the attack began with a debate over abortion rights, saying the suspect “did not yell or use obscenities, but that the suspect did talk in a loud manner to get his points across.”
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Planned Parenthood reportedly told local media it &#8220;has no control over what happens on the public sidewalk.&#8221;
&#8220;Planned Parenthood does not condone any violence, and I think it is unfortunate that there was an incident that occurred outside our health center,&#8221; Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/two-men-assaulted-outside-planned-parenthood-baltimore/44039033#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a local NBC affiliate. &#8220;It&#8217;s a darn shame that folks who are trying to receive health care have to put up with remarks and comments when they are just trying to go into a facility and receive health care.&#8221;
The Daily Wire contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for comment on whether the attack would be investigated as a hate crime, but did not receive an immediate response.

Bill Tompkins  Planned Parenthood signage Archive

Baltimore Police Release Video Showing Attack Against Pro-Lifers Outside Planned Parenthood

Abortion

Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Movement

Roe v. Wade's Long And Brutal Legacy

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-targets-jim-justices-coal-empire-as-west-virginia-governor-readies-2024-senate-bid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice Sues Jim Justice</a>
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Republican West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s coal businesses on Wednesday. The DOJ says the businesses possess millions in unpaid civil penalties.
The lawsuit targets 13 coal businesses operated by the Justice family, as well as the governor’s adult son. The DOJ said that the amount of penalties, interest, and expenses owed is nearly $8 million. Governor Justice is the top challenger to incumbent Democrat Senator Joe Manchin. According to an East Carolina University poll released earlier this week, Justice leads Manchin by over 20 points in a head-to-head matchup. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which backs GOP candidates for U.S. Senate, said of the DOJ’s lawsuit, “Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has gone totally rogue.” The NRSC added that “weaponizing the federal government to attack the family of a senate candidate is a complete abuse of power.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-rape-accuser-tara-reade-defects-to-russia-for-protection-and-safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden Accuser Flees To Russia</a>
A former staffer who accused President Joe Biden of sexual assault back when he was a senator has defected to Russia. Tara Reade made the announcement during a Russian state press conference while she sat next to Russian spy Maria Butina.
“I’m not going to be intimidated, bullied or silenced. I’m going to speak out and I’m willing to speak under oath about the corruption I witnessed, about the crime I experienced,” Reade claimed. “And it is remarkable that Joe Biden raped me when I worked for him at U.S. Congress and I’m supposed to be the fugitive. That is ridiculous and it’s unacceptable.”
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Reade accused Biden of sexually assaulting her during her time working for him when he was a senator. Reade has also said that she would be requesting Russian citizenship.
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Nvidia Eclipses $1 Trillion Mark
Thanks in part to the surge in artificial intelligence, which requires specific hardware and software, chipmaking corporation Nvidia saw its market value <a href="https://news.join1440.com/t/j-l-edutrll-djddulthdd-b/">rise above</a> $1 trillion Tuesday. Founded in 1993, originally with a focus on video games, Nvidia joins just nine other companies to have reached that high water mark. Just five other companies — including Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft — are currently above $1 trillion.
<a href="https://gizmodo.com/ai-chatbot-eating-disorder-helpline-neda-1850490751" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> National Eating Disorders Association Pauses Chatbot</a>
The National Eating Disorders Association has temporarily disabled its AI chatbot nicknamed Tessa because it “may have given information that was harmful and unrelated to the program.” 
NEDA was set to cancel its long-running telephone hotline to help individuals with eating disorders on June 1, by shifting operations over to the Artificial intelligence chatbot “Tessa.” However, several reports indicate that Tessa failed to provide the nuanced support users needed, and even gave advice that could inadvertently exacerbate existing eating disorders. For example, one user was given weight-loss advice and told how to measure her body with calipers — even after the chatbot was told she had an eating disorder. For its part, NEDA said that it hadn’t seen those sorts of responses to the 2,000-plus individuals who’ve tried it. The association is now looking into options for how to fix the chatbot.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-choice-activist-brutally-attacks-two-elderly-pro-life-advocates-outside-baltimore-planned-parenthood-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pro-Life Advocates Attacked</a>
Two elderly pro-life advocates were reportedly attacked by an unidentified male in front of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/planned-parenthood">Planned Parenthood</a> in Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday, leaving one victim hospitalized for a fractured bone in his face. Now, police are searching for suspects.
80-year-old Dick Schafer and 73-year-old Mark Crosby were allegedly assaulted and seriously injured outside the Baltimore abortion facility in an unprovoked attack last week. Schafer has been recovering at home, while Crosby is currently receiving treatment for his injuries in the shock trauma facility at the University of Maryland. According to a police report, doctors diagnosed Crosby with a large hematoma, hyphemia, and head and neck pain. According to the Baltimore police, the suspect could be seen passing Crosby and Schafer before turning around and having a “visibly aggressive conversation” with Schafer, which then turned into a physical altercation. So far, police have made no arrests.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youngkin-to-deploy-virginia-national-guard-troops-to-southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Youngkin Sends National Guard To The Border</a>
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that he will be sending 100 national guardsmen to the southern border to assist Texas in the ongoing border crisis. On Wednesday, Youngkin cited the ongoing opioid crisis as one of the driving factors.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Youngkin cites fentanyl coming across the border as one of the main reasons for Virginia deploying National Guard troops to help Texas. <a href="https://twitter.com/WTOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WTOP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorVA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovernorVA</a> <a href="https://t.co/quQ9NdQhiz">pic.twitter.com/quQ9NdQhiz</a>
&mdash; Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickWTOP/status/1663955182814625815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Wednesday

Wednesday Afternoon Update: DOJ Sues Jim Justice, Biden Accuser Flees To Russia, Pro-Life Advocates Attacked In Baltimore

Artificial Intelligence

General

Glenn Youngkin

Joe Biden

Morning Wire

Podcast

Tara Reade

Just when you think you&#8217;ve seen it all, the Democrats pull another trick out of their hat to avoid responsibility for soft-on-crime policies which have sent lawlessness skyrocketing around the nation.
The cities of Baltimore, St. Louis, and Seattle, among other municipalities, announced a lawsuit against two car-makers for allegedly making vehicles that are too easy to steal. (Author&#8217;s note: This is not an article from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/babylon-bee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Babylon Bee</a>).
On Thursday, the cities released a press release stating the lawsuit is &#8220;against Hyundai and Kia for failing to equip their vehicles with industry-standard vehicle immobilization technology. Without this feature, vehicles can be started without a key, a flaw that has been the subject of numerous TikTok videos demonstrating the ease with which these cars can be stolen.&#8221;
According to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, defunding <del datetime="2023-05-12T17:19:38+00:00">the police</del> the creation of certain parts found in Hyundai and Kia vehicles is to blame for the record-breaking car thefts.
&#8220;These cost-cutting measures employed by Hyundai and Kia at the expense of public safety are unacceptable,&#8221; Scott <a href="https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/news/press-releases/2023-05-11-city-baltimore-files-lawsuit-against-hyundai-kia-over-car-thefts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a press release. &#8220;They have left our residents vulnerable to crime and are significantly burdening our police resources.&#8221;
To the city&#8217;s credit, Kias and Hyundais do appear to constitute a plurality of car thefts in Baltimore in 2023.
&#8220;Year-to-date, auto thefts are up 95%, with Kia and Hyundais representing 41% of all stolen vehicles,&#8221; Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a statement.
Yet what can explain the other 59% of car thefts this year?
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Well, perhaps Baltimore&#8217;s <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-police-budget-explainer-20200617-4yjweepbkreknjlef4f45jiblm-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-police track record</a>, its <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/concerns-of-baltimore-city-crime-reaching-surrounding-counties" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tendency to dole out lenient punishments</a>, and its <a href="https://americafirstpolicy.com/latest/20220825-fatherlessness-in-the-national-capital-region#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Baltimore%20City,about%2041%25%20of%20all%20births." target="_blank" rel="noopener">fatherlessness rate can explain the issue</a>.
Looking at those policies could also <a href="https://www.police1.com/crime-prevention/articles/report-ranks-us-cities-with-increased-homicide-rates-in-2023-BeaNzXzmnnVlAw3b/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clarify why Baltimore</a> has the third highest homicide rate per capita in the nation in 2023, followed by St. Louis coming in fourth. Seattle fares better in that category, but even Seattle can&#8217;t say that Kia and Hyundai are to blame for its <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/violent-crime-car-thefts-reached-15-year-high-in-seattle-in-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">15-year-high violent crime rate</a> in 2022.
Admitting that leftist policies and broken homes are more likely to blame for the chaos would require Democrats to accept responsibility for their actions. So instead, they&#8217;ll blame those evil corporations.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design – 2023-05-12T121806.766

Liberal Cities Sue Car Makers For Making Vehicles Too Easy To Steal

Cars

Hyundai

Robbery

Seattle

St. Louis

A Baltimore man convicted of murder in 1992 was finally exonerated after evidence showed the two witnesses who testified against him were unreliable.
In 1991, two people claimed to have witnessed Anthony Hall chasing a man down an alley – a man who ended up shot and killed. The first witness, Nancy Hill, said she had been out walking with her five children on the night of the murder and that the victim of the crime, who has not been named, ran past her and knocked down one of her kids, <a href="https://exonerate.org/anthony-hall-finally-exonerated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project</a>.
Nancy said that two men carrying weapons then ran past her, one of whom she identified as Anthony Hall even though the man’s face was obscured by a hoodie. She said she knew Hall from the neighborhood, which is how she was able to identify him.
The second eyewitness, Gerald Patterson, told police he had been driving by the scene of the crime when he heard gunshots and saw three men running across the street. One of the men, Patterson said, was carrying a weapon. He said Hall was that man.
Hall was convicted based solely on these two eyewitnesses, MAIP reported, but even the victim’s brother thought Hall was innocent.
MAIP obtained the police file decades after Hall had been convicted and learned that there were multiple eyewitnesses, including one who was adamant that Hall was not one of the perpetrators and two others who gave descriptions that did not match Hall. Additional undisclosed witnesses informed police of an alternative suspect whose description matched the one given by other witnesses and who had a motive to commit the crime.
It was also discovered that Patterson, one of the named eyewitnesses, initially told police that he arrived at the scene 10 to 15 minutes after the shooting had occurred. A passenger in his car had confirmed this timeline, but this information was never disclosed to Hall’s defense attorney.
After years of working on the case, MAIP was finally able to talk to witnesses, two of whom were in Patterson’s car the night he claimed to have seen Hall running across the street. They confirmed they had arrived sometime after the shooting and never saw any perpetrators. In 2022, Patterson admitted that he never saw the shooting and only gave Hall’s name because he had been arrested on drug charges and police were allegedly threatening him.
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In March, Patterson and the other witnesses who denied Hall was involved testified at a hearing for Hall’s petition for a writ of actual innocence. Hall had been on parole since 2017 but was still fighting to completely clear his name.
Prosecutors tried to argue that Hall hadn’t met the standard for actual innocence because Nancy Hill’s testimony hadn’t been challenged, but the judge rejected the argument and granted Hall’s petition.

African American in Prison

He Spent 25 Years In Prison For A Murder He Didn’t Commit. He Was Just Fully Exonerated.

He Spent 25 Years In Prison For A Murder He Didn't Commit. He Was Just Fully Exonerated.

Wrongful Conviction

Baltimore residents under 17 face a citywide curfew this summer after two teenagers were injured Sunday night in a shooting amid a crowd of over 200 minors gathered around the incident.
According to local media, a large presence of police broke up a fight at the Inner Harbor around 9:00 p.m. last night, leaving a 14-year-old and 16-year-old injured from gunshot wounds. Authorities said two were arrested, including one police found with a loaded gun in the police headquarters parking garage after attempting to escape the scene on a dirt bike, and another believed to have been involved in the shooting.
Following the report, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called for a 9:00 p.m. curfew for minors under 14 years old and a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone younger than 17.
&#8220;I want everyone to hear me, and hear me clearly,&#8221; Scott said, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/baltimore-fraternal-order-of-police-criticizes-city-leaders-response-to-violence/">CBS</a>. &#8220;We are going back to the old days. We will be enforcing a youth curfew as we move into the latter spring and summer months.&#8221;
Scott said the city would host summer camps and programs, which have yet to be announced.
&#8220;We are going to have summer camp,&#8221; Mayor Scott <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/baltiimore-mayor-says-citywide-curfew-minors-memorial-day-weekend/">said</a>. &#8220;We are going to do the great things we do in recreation and parks, but we are also going to put a sense of accountability on families. We want our young kids to come out to the Inner Harbor and enjoy it in a safe way.&#8221;
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison addressed the incident in a press conference following the shooting, stating more than 40 officers responded to the scene.
&#8220;This speaks to a larger issue, that young people have easy access to these firearms and would use them indiscriminately, shooting people within 30 feet with 25 to 30 police officers who were in the area,&#8221; Harrison said. &#8220;They don&#8217;t care about the consequences and have no respect for human life or authority to pull off that brazenly cowardly act in front of police officers.&#8221;
Some residents described a disturbing atmosphere around the Inner Harbor area to <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/608502/2/2-teenagers-injured-in-shooting-at-inner-harbor-after-large-gathering">local media</a>.
&#8220;You want to be able to come out any time and be safe. So, that makes me feel like we have to come in before dark,&#8221; Tammy Williams, a resident, said.
Another resident said she had to leave the area while visiting with her daughter, who said the youth flooded the streets with dirt bikes.
&#8220;I was telling her, &#8216;Where are their parents?&#8217; And, if something happens, then their parents are going to be the ones saying, &#8216;Oh, this is terrible.&#8217; But you know, the time is now,&#8221; Velvette Clayton said.
Baltimore police reported at least five children had been fatally shot in 2023, with 23 residents under 18 years old having sustained gunfire injuries.

US-NEWS-BALTIMORE-VIOLENCE-PLAN-BZ

Baltimore Mayor Says Minors Face Citywide Curfew Following Two Teenagers Shot Amid Large Crowd Of Youths

Gun Violence

Violent Crime

Adnan Syed, who had charges dropped against him in October after he spent more than 20 years in prison for the murder of his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, will remain out of prison despite his conviction being reinstated.
A Maryland appellate court, in a 2-1 decision, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-has-conviction-reinstated-by-maryland-appeals-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that a lower court had violated the victim’s family’s right to attend a critical hearing about vacating Syed’s conviction, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/28/adnan-syed-conviction-reinstated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The appellate court ordered the hearing be held again, which “results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence,” the court wrote.
But that doesn’t mean that Syed must return to prison since the court ordered a 60-day stay on the order, which &#8220;gives the parties time to assess how to proceed in response to this Court&#8217;s decision.&#8221;
Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, said in <a href="https://people.com/crime/adnan-syed-free-for-time-being-lawyer-slams-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> obtained by People Magazine that the appellate court’s decision &#8220;was not about Adnan&#8217;s innocence but about notice and mootness.&#8221;
&#8220;The Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated Adnan&#8217;s convictions, not because the Motion to Vacate was erroneous, but because Ms. Lee&#8217;s brother did not appear in person at the vacatur hearing,&#8221; Suter said. &#8220;We agree with the dissenting judge that the appeal is moot and that Mr. Lee&#8217;s attendance over Zoom was sufficient.&#8221;
&#8220;There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon,&#8221; Suter said. &#8220;For the time being, Adnan remains a free man.&#8221;
The ruling comes after Young Lee, the victim’s brother, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/victims-family-wants-murder-conviction-reinstated-against-adnan-syed-after-he-was-released-from-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that he and his family weren’t properly notified of the September 19, 2022, hearing that resulted in Syed’s release, and only received an email about the hearing three days before it took place. Young Lee <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hae-min-lees-family-demands-appellate-court-reinstate-murder-convictio-rcna68792" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC News that he was not able to travel to Maryland on such short notice, as he lived and worked in California. In February, the Lee family asked an appellate court to reinstate the murder conviction against Syed.
“We respect and we honor the fact that Hae’s family suffers so much, and we just wished that they could get the answers that they can have,” Syed told the outlet. “We just hope that the court also recognizes that our family suffers, too.”
Suter also stated at the time that Lee’s family didn’t have the right to play any kind of active role in the hearing that led to Syed’s release.
“What the victim has is a right of information and a right to not be caught off-guard as to what is happening,” Suter told judges. “This is not an environment in which their impact should be influencing the court’s decision.”
Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn decided to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-released-from-prison-conviction-overturned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overturn Syed’s murder conviction</a> in September after the popular “Serial” podcast raised doubts about his guilt. Prosecutors had revealed there were other suspects, as well as concerns about the evidence used against him. A year-long investigation involving prosecutors and Suter, Syed’s attorney, discovered that authorities knew of at least one alternate suspect prior to Syed’s trial but withheld the information from his defense. This, the prosecutors and Suter argued, was known as a Brady violation.
Hae Min Lee was 18 years old when she was found strangled to death and buried in Leakin Park near Baltimore, Maryland. Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend who was 17 at the time of her killing, was alleged to have argued with her in a car before strangling her to death. Prosecutors alleged Syed committed the murder because he couldn’t handle Lee breaking up with him.

Adnan Syed

Adnan Syed Remains Free Despite Judge’s Order Reinstating Murder Conviction

Adnan Syed Remains Free Despite Judge's Order Reinstating Murder Conviction

Murder

Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped charges against Adnan Syed, who was convicted in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
Syed was previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-released-from-prison-conviction-overturned">released from prison</a> last month after his conviction was overturned, and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was given 30 days to decide whether she would drop the charges against Syed or retry him for Lee’s murder. On Tuesday, her office dropped the charges against Syed.
“This case is over. There are no more appeals necessary,” Mosby said at a news conference, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/adnan-syed-crime-baltimore-8380beee8b6ab15102a5a45f2c59b839">according to the Associated Press</a>.
Mosby said she made her decision after DNA test results of Lee’s clothing and shoes were obtained using modern techniques that weren’t available at the time of Syed’s trial. Investigators were not able to recover usable DNA from Lee’s clothing, but DNA obtained from her shoes contained the DNA of multiple individuals – but not Syed’s.
Mosby also apologized to Lee’s family for the hurt they have felt for Syed’s wrongful conviction, which she maintained was not her administration’s fault. Still, she said, “as a representative of the institution, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and to apologize to the family of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed.”
She added that her office would “continue to utilize every available resource to prosecute whoever is responsible for the death of Hae Min Lee.”
Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, praised Mosby’s decision.
“Today’s the day that Adnan Syed and his loved ones have been waiting for 23 long years,” Suter said on a call with reporters, according to the AP. “The results of the DNA testing excluded Adnan and confirm what Adnan and his supporters have always known: that Adnan Syed is innocent. The state of Maryland has dropped the charges. Adnan Syed is free.”
Syed spent 23 years in prison for the 1999 murder of Lee.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn decided to overturn Syed’s murder conviction in September after the popular “Serial” podcast raised doubts about his guilt. Prosecutors had revealed there were other suspects, as well as concerns about the evidence used against him. A yearlong investigation involving prosecutors and Suter, Syed’s attorney, discovered that authorities knew of at least one alternate suspect prior to Syed’s trial but withheld the information from his defense. This, the prosecutors and Suter argued, was known as a Brady violation.
Lee was 18 years old when she was found strangled to death and buried in Leakin Park near Baltimore, Maryland, the Sun reported. Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend, who was 17 at the time of her killing, was alleged to have argued with her in a car before strangling her to death. Prosecutors alleged Syed committed the murder because he couldn’t handle Lee breaking up with him.
Syed, however, has always maintained his innocence, and his attorney argued that he may not have spent 23 years in prison if prosecutors hadn’t withheld evidence.
“If that evidence had been disclosed, perhaps Adnan would not have missed his high school graduation, or his pre-med plans, or 23 years of birthdays, holidays, family gatherings, community events and everyday moments of joy,” Suter said.

US-NEWS-SERIAL-SYED-BZ

Charges Dropped Against Adnan Syed, Subject Of Popular ‘Serial’ Podcast

On January 13, 1999, 18-year-old high school student Hae Min Lee was reported missing by her parents after she didn’t come home one night. A search was started, and four weeks later, Lee’s body was found half-buried in Leakin Park outside of Baltimore, Maryland.
Within weeks of Lee’s body being found, on February 28, 1999, her ex-boyfriend <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-released-from-prison-conviction-overturned">Adnan Syed</a> was arrested for her murder. Lee had recently broken up with Syed, and prosecutors alleged that Syed strangled Lee to death because he couldn’t accept their breakup.
The case against Syed rested primarily on the word of his friend, Jay Wilds, who told police he helped Syed bury Lee’s body. Another witness, Jennifer Pusateri, claimed at trial that Wilds told her about Syed’s alleged confession and that he was shown Lee’s body. The prosecution also presented evidence from cell towers, which backed up at least some of what Wilds said about when things occurred.
Syed always said he was innocent, but in February 2000, he was convicted of Lee’s murder and sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 30 years. He tried to appeal in 2003 but failed. In 2010, he appealed again, on the basis of “ineffective assistance of counsel,” Biography <a href="https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/adnan-syed">reported</a>. The appeal referred to his original attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, who Syed said did not look into his alibi witness, Asia McClain, who insisted she was with Syed at their high school library when Lee was supposed to have been killed.
Gutierrez in 2001 agreed to be disbarred after other complaints were made against her. She died in 2004.
During his 2010 appeal, Syed’s attorneys also pointed out that the cell tower records from the original trial were unreliable.
What seemed like a big break for Syed came in 2014, when journalist Sarah Koenig began her podcast, “Serial,” and featured Syed’s story. Koenig’s podcast did not blindly advocate for Syed, instead laying out everything the journalist found in the case, whether it pointed to Syed’s innocence in guilt. Koenig noted the unreliability of Wilds’ statement – which changed repeatedly over the years. His police interviews also appear to show he was coached by Baltimore police during the investigation. Koenig also explained on her podcast that the timeline of the crime didn’t add up.
“We knew people would come to different conclusions, of course. Barring some smoking-gun evidence, which we didn’t find (and it seems like no one else has either), there was no way for us to say definitively what happened. But what we were pointing out in our story was that the timeline of the case and the evidence in the case had serious problems. Which meant the people who convicted Adnan of murder, they didn’t know what happened either,” Koenig recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/briefing/adnan-syed-freed-serial-sarah-koenig.html">told</a> The New York Times. “And so this kid goes to prison for life at 18, based on a story that wasn’t accurate. That’s what we wanted people to think about: Even setting aside the question of Adnan’s guilt or innocence, are we OK with a system that operates like that?”
Serial may have elevated Syed’s story, but it wasn’t without its issues, as Slate <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2022/09/serial-legacy-adnan-syed-sarah-koenig.html">reported</a>. Rabia Chaudhry, who is one of the hosts of the “Undisclosed” podcast, compared Serial to a burning house.
“Imagine you ask someone to help renovate your house. Instead they set fire to it. The story about the fire brings thousands to your aid that rebuild your house,” Chaudhry <a href="https://twitter.com/rabiasquared/status/1570742013250908160">tweeted</a>.
This is because, as Slate noted, “Serial” cast doubt on Syed’s “innocence using disproven evidence, and for years never posted a correction or update.”
Following the success of “Serial,” Syed’s story was also the subject of Chaudhry’s own podcast, and a book she published in 2016 called “Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial.” McClain, Syed’s alibi witness, also published her own book called “Confessions of a Serial Alibi” in 2016. Investigations Discovery and HBO also produced their own documentaries on the case.
It wasn’t until June 2016 that the legal system started to work in Syed’s favor. That year, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch granted Syed a retrial. That ruling was upheld in March 2018 by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. A year later, however, Syed’s hopes of a retrial were dashed when Maryland’s highest court rejected the appeals court’s decision, claiming the evidence brought up in appeal wouldn’t have changed the jury’s decision had it been included during the original trial.
Syed had to wait three more years to score <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adnan-syed-subject-of-hit-serial-podcast-released-from-prison-conviction-overturned">a real court victory</a>. On September 19, 2022, Baltimore City Circuit Court judge Melissa Phinn made the decision to overturn Syed’s murder conviction, following a yearlong investigation involving prosecutors and Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter. That investigation discovered that authorities knew two alternate suspects prior to Syed’s trial but withheld the information from his defense. This, the prosecutors and Suter argued, was known as a Brady violation.
One of those alternate suspects had threatened Lee in front of another person, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/us/adnan-syed-murder-conviction-overturned.html">reported</a>, saying he would make her “disappear” and threatening to “kill her.” The other suspect also gave police information at the time of the investigation into Lee’s death that “can be viewed as a motive for that same suspect to harm the victim,” prosecutors said in their motion to vacate Syed’s conviction.
Suter argued that Syed may not have spent 23 years in prison if prosecutors hadn’t withheld evidence.
“If that evidence had been disclosed, perhaps Adnan would not have missed his high school graduation, or his pre-med plans, or 23 years of birthdays, holidays, family gatherings, community events and everyday moments of joy,” Suter said after Syed’s conviction was vacated.
Syed walked out of prison on September 19, with Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby saying that “justice is always worth the price paid for its pursuit,” though she wouldn’t say she was definitively dismissing the charges against Syed. Her office has 30 days to decide whether they will drop the charges or try him again. In the meantime, Syed is on home detention and ordered to wear a GPS monitor.
Not everyone is convinced that Syed is innocent or that he received an unfair trial. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, whose office represented the state during Syed’s appeals, argued that Syed’s release was wrong and that his office wasn’t consulted about the alleged violations.
“Neither State’s Attorney Mosby nor anyone from her office bothered to consult with either the Assistant State’s Attorney who prosecuted the case or with anyone in my office regarding these alleged violations,” Frosh said in a statement. “The file in this case was made available on several occasions to the defense.”

US-NEWS-SERIAL-SYED-4-BZ

‘Serial’ Podcast’s Adnan Syed Set Free Thanks To ‘Brady Violation,’ Awaits Final Ruling

Readers Pass

True Crime

Adnan Syed spent 23 years in prison for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a murder he may not have committed.
Prosecutors in Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office now have 30 days to decide whether they will drop the charges against Syed or retry him for Lee’s murder, The Baltimore Sun <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-adnan-syed-hearing-to-vacate-conviction-20220919-ynxvlcuqpbch5h6h2xl5xleh7q-story.html">reported</a>. In the meantime, Syed is out of prison on home detention and required to wear a GPS monitor.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn made the decision to overturn Syed’s murder conviction after doubts were raised about his guilt following the popular “Serial” podcast. Prosecutors had revealed there were other suspects, as well as concerns about the evidence used against him. A yearlong investigation involving prosecutors and Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, discovered that authorities knew of at least one alternate suspect prior to Syed’s trial but withheld the information from his defense. This, the prosecutors and Suter argued, was known as a Brady violation.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, whose office represented the state during Syed’s appeals, argued that Syed’s release was wrong and that his office wasn’t consulted about the alleged violations.
“Neither State’s Attorney Mosby nor anyone from her office bothered to consult with either the Assistant State’s Attorney who prosecuted the case or with anyone in my office regarding these alleged violations,” Frosh said in a statement. “The file in this case was made available on several occasions to the defense.”
Lee was 18 years old when she was found strangled to death and buried in Leakin Park near Baltimore, Maryland, the Sun reported. Syed, Lee’s ex-boyfriend, who was 17 at the time of her killing, was alleged to have argued with her in a car before strangling her to death. Prosecutors alleged Syed committed the murder because he couldn’t handle Lee breaking up with him.
Syed, however, says he is innocent, and his attorney argued that he may not have spent 23 years in prison if prosecutors hadn’t withheld evidence.
“If that evidence had been disclosed, perhaps Adnan would not have missed his high school graduation, or his pre-med plans, or 23 years of birthdays, holidays, family gatherings, community events and everyday moments of joy,” said Suter, Syed’s attorney.
In 2014, the podcast “Serial” debuted, spending 12 episodes going over every detail of Syed’s case, leading many to wonder if he was, in fact, guilty. But as The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/us/adnan-syed-murder-conviction-overturned.html">reported</a>, it wasn’t until this month that prosecutors actually recommended vacating his conviction and granting him a new trial, arguing that “the state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction.”

After ‘Serial’ podcast, prosecutors tested DNA evidence in Adnan Syed case. Here’s what they found

Adnan Syed, Subject Of Hit ‘Serial’ Podcast, Released From Prison, Conviction Overturned

Adnan Syed, Subject Of Hit 'Serial' Podcast, Released From Prison, Conviction Overturned

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