Serial Episode Six
https://serialpodcast.org/season-one/6/the-case-against-adnan-syed
Part I – listen to the Serial Episode and post a thoughtful question in our class forum as described in the Syllabus. Some of the subjects in this episode related to the legal aspects of evidence and procedure include the following:
Credibility of witnesses
Corroboration
Police Interrogation of suspects
What would a sociopath’s response sound like?
“Admit nothing, deny everything, demand proof” defense
Part II – Respond thoughtfully to at least one other student’s question as described in the Syllabus.Something that this episode made clear is how much the prosecution’s case relies on witness testimony. While there are a few pieces of physical evidence, such as the partial handprint, there is nothing that comes even close to proving that Adnan and Hae were together that day, let alone that he killed her. Therefore, Adnan’s guilt comes down to circumstantial evidence and other people’s memories. The problem with that is how different people’s recollections of events contradict each other. Laura sounded truthful when recounting what she heard from the neighbor boy, but he vehemently denied ever saying anything. If she’s telling the truth, there has to be a reason for him to have recanted his story. Of course, we have to take into consideration that he reportedly told her the story after Adnan had already been in custody for a few months. People who knew him said that he was a gossip, and because he was friends with Jay, he might have heard inside details about the case and felt that making up a story for Laura was the only way to share them. The contrasting stories of Laura and the neighbor boy seem to further the divide between the two possible versions of events: what Jay says happened and what Adnan says happened. The question that raises for me is this: could there have been any sort of collusion between either of the two boys with one or more of the witnesses?
