Family of Hae Min Lee asks court not to reduce Adnan Syed’s sentence

The family of Hae Min Lee is appealing a Maryland judge's decision to vacate the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, who was accused of killing the teen and served more than 20 years in prison before his release last week. (CNN/Baltimore Police)

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- The family of Hae Min Lee issued a response to Adnan Syed’s motion for a reduced sentence, which the state said it supported last month.

Adnan Syed was convicted for the 1999 murder of Lee, who was Syed’s ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. Syed was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping, and false imprisonment in the case in 2000, and was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in the case. He was 17 at the time of his conviction.

In 2022, Syed was freed from prison after Baltimore prosecutors found issues with the evidence used in the trial, which led to a judge overturning Syed’s conviction. In 2024, Maryland’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling to reinstate the conviction due to Lee’s family not given enough notice to attend the vacatur hearing.

In a filing issued Thursday, attorneys for the family of Hae Min Lee responded to Syed’s motion, urging the court to deny Syed’s request for a sentence reduction, due to the gravity of the crime, the evidence presented against Syed, and the ongoing pain suffered by Hae Min Lee’s family.

In the filing, Hae Min Lee’s family argues it would be “premature” to reduce Syed’s life sentence while the vacatur of his conviction remains under review.

In the filing, the attorneys referenced what they called “overwhelming evidence” of Syed’s guilt in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, including witness testimony, cell phone records, and what Lee describes as Syed’s “shifting stories to police.”

Syed’s conviction reinstated

Later in August 2024, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s ruling to reinstate the conviction due to Lee’s family being given inadequate notice of the vacatur hearing.

In December 2024, Syed’s lawyers submitted a motion requesting the reduction of his sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act, which permits individuals who have served at least 20 years in prison for crimes committed as minors to seek a sentence modification.

In a court filing in response to the motion, the State’s Attorney’s office expressed support for Syed’s motion. In that filing, the state asked the court to approve Syed’s request for a hearing and adjust his sentence to life, suspending all but time already served, followed by a period of probation.

Attorney Erica Suter expressed sympathy for Lee’s family but added that Syed is looking forward to making his case to the court on Feb. 26, which could determine if he will be sent back or prison or allowed to stay free.

“Mr. Syed continues to extend his deepest sympathy to Mr. Lee and his family. Their loss and pain are unimaginable,” Suter said in a statement to WJZ. “But the Lee Family’s filing is in response to Mr. Syed’s motion for reduction of sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act, not the pending motion to vacate his conviction.”

Suter continues, “Although Mr. Syed looks forward to litigating his innocence, the upcoming February 26th hearing is on whether Mr. Syed should be returned to prison or remain free. Mr. Syed has spent his entire incarceration and the past two years in society demonstrating that he is worthy of a sentence reduction. The evidence that he is not a danger to society is incontrovertible. Mr. Syed looks forward to making his case to the court at the hearing next week.”