It also shed light on the deficient representation Syed received from his counsel, who was disbarred just a year after Syed’s conviction. A judge in Maryland granted Syed a new trial, and an appellate court upheld that decision. It agreed that the performance of Syed’s trial counsel in investigating the case was unacceptable but concluded that the proof presented against Syed at trial was too strong for that deficiency to have made a difference. They have the right to see the prosecutors’ evidence before trial and to confront their witnesses in court. For convicted defendants like Syed, journalists are often the only remaining hope.

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