Adnan Syed's case is unique. Withholding of potentially exculpatory evidence is not
Roughly 2,500 people were exonerated in the United States between 1989 and 2019. In roughly half of all cases, the withholding of key evidence was the reason why.
The case of Adnan Syed, who served more than 20 years in prison on murder charges before his conviction was vacated on Monday, is unique because of the enormous publicity it garnered through the hit true-crime podcast Serial. But one of the reasons he was set free — because prosecutors withheld evidence that may have exonerated him — is not uncommon.
In making the decision to release Syed from prison,
