So that’s the bulk of the state’s motion to vacate — new information about two potential suspects, important evidence withheld from the defense, renewed suspicion of Jay’s story, loss of confidence in the cellphone evidence. And while the Brady violation alone is enough for the state to cry uncle, all of it together, well, yes, overwhelming cause for concern. Adnan’s case was a mess, is a mess. That’s pretty much where we were when we stopped reporting in 2014.
Tara Jacoby argued that Serial was great storytelling, but also ‘shoddy reporting’.
How law enforcement and prosecutors wield their vast and often unregulated power is not a sexy story. Finding out who committed a heinous murder is way more enticing and perhaps more palatable. So Koenig focuses pretty squarely on the latter. That’s okay, I guess—this is her story, after all—but she can’t call it fair. How can you tell a story about a convicted criminal without talking about the system that convicted him?