The Case Against Adnan Syed

Writing a short review to counterbalance some of the more negative reviews (of the armchair detectives that happily pass judgement). Though, I do agree the documentary doesn't present the case particularly well, or their argument of the case's failures, and without Serial and Undisclosed, this documentary wouldn't receive any attention/acclaim, which is a pity.

I have no idea if Adnan is guilty, but what is clear is, that the police investigation, trial, and succeeding actions of the judicial system, have little interest in providing justice on the basis of evidence (which should be of concern to everyone). Is that due to it being an inconvenience, general incompetence or institutional corruption?

In any event, reviewers should look to the title of the documentary, and then consider whether the state made its case (based on information/evidence available) before offering their opinions. The documentary highlights that it didn't, though this could have been argued better.

It just shows how messed up the legal system is :( keeping his family in my prayers

Regardless of whether Adnan is guilty or not, it's proven many times that the justice system is broken. Many people consider it as sacred but in reality, it's just a man made system and doesn't always become successful in delivering justice. It works on the ability of people to present the truth in order to serve justice, but people can be biased, easily manipulated, and influenced. This includes everyone in the justice system. The many innocent people, who were put in jail and later exonerated, and the people who were let go freely even though they were guilty, are the biggest proof of it. The system prefers the rich and powerful. If you have the money, you can hire the biggest lawyer with the biggest mouth, whether you are guilty or not, and that lawyer will try to manipulate the system to prove your innocence.

For those claiming they "know" Adnan was and still is guilty are just as bad as the unbelievable stubborn and outright corrupt US "justice" system. I've listen to the podcast and I've watched this documentary and whilst it may have been one sided I'm baffled to see how anyone can be so convinced of his guilt. There is literally nothing that proves he did anything, other than a pathological criminal and liar whose story changed daily. I've seen many other cases in which the prosecution do everything they can to pin a murder on someone and ignore glaring holes and inconsistencies and seemingly how zero interest in finding the truth simply to clear it from their desk and move on. This crazy idea to get someone to plead guilty despite maintaining their innocence for 20 odd years, simply to prevent them from suing the state for time spent in prison it madness. I'm infuriated that people can't see past the collusion and hell bent evil simply to avoid admitting they got it wrong and worse knowingly locked someone up with zero hard evidence. Equally infuriating is that this documentary ended with so much more to be told, including that Adnan did get realised and explain more about this. Hopefully someone will pick up where this finished.

Early Serial podcast listeners will likely notice a marked difference, in that this documentary is shaped in favor of Adnan's innocence. If you go into this series knowing that his devoted advocate, Rabia Chaudry, was one of the producers (at least according to online searches as of the date of this post), you'll likely have a better sense of what to expect, and still be extremely interested. Adnan could very well be innocent. Just don't expect to get a balanced perspective from this documentary. That said, I applaud Rabia for her perseverance in getting massive exposure and scrutiny for Adnan's case. May the truth win in the end.