The Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice and the Student Government Association are co-sponsoring a speaker event to host Professor Erica Suter on April 10th from 6:30-8:00pm in the Charles Carroll Room in the Stamp Student Union! She is the Director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law and Adnan Syed’s attorney. We will be discussing Adnan Syed’s case and its developments, the Innocence Project, and the prevalence of wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system. 

Adnan Syed was released in 2022 after spending 23 years incarcerated for the murder of his classmate and ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. He was excluded as a suspect in the case and added to the National Registry of Exonerations, but his conviction has since been reinstated due to a lack of notice for the victim’s family. Syed is from Baltimore, MD and his case has been made famous by the Serial Podcast. The Innocence Project played a large role in the reversal of his conviction and does important work in advocating for a more equitable justice system. 

The first hour will consist of a lecture and prepared questions and the last 30 minutes will be for questions from the audience. There will also be free Maryland dairy available for those who attend! All students are welcome and can submit questions to be asked at bit.ly/innocencequestions. Please reach out to Rhiannon Little at rhik003 [at] umd.edu with any questions!