The criminal justice system has the purpose of bringing those who have committed criminal wrongs to justice. However, not even the criminal justice system is unflawed. There have been numerous times in history where the law wrongfully convicted innocent citizens for heinous crimes. Below are the horrific stories of Adnan Syed, The Central Park 5, and Richard Jewell about how they were victims of wrongful conviction.
1. Adnan Syed
On a chilly winter day in Baltimore, January 1999, Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School preparing for graduation, suddenly vanished. Weeks of searching turned up nothing. As whispers spread through town, suspicion quickly fell on her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Adnan Syed.
Syed insisted he was innocent. He claimed he and Lee had spoken the night before she disappeared, made up, and exchanged “I love yous.” After publicly defending himself and offering to help law enforcement, several of Lee’s friends shared a different perspective. They described frequent arguments between the two and alleged that Syed was verbally abusive. Some even suspected he was or would become physically abusive.
Law enforcement searched Lee’s property and belongings. They uncovered several pieces of incriminating evidence against Syed. In Lee’s car, they discovered a note stating, “I’m going to kill.” Investigators took it as a sign of Syed’s intent. They also found that Syed had called Lee multiple times daily before she vanished but never again afterward. Additionally, Jay Wilds, an acquaintance of both Syed and Lee, testified that Syed had confided in him about plans to harm Lee. Wilds also claimed Syed later asked for help disposing of her body. These findings built the prosecution’s case against Syed.
After four weeks of investigation, authorities located Lee’s body on February 9 in Leakin Park. The medical examiner determined that she had been strangled. Syed was arrested and convicted. The conviction rested primarily on Wilds’ testimony and the suspicious note, believed to be in Syed’s handwriting. Everyone assumed he was guilty—until Sarah Koenig stepped in.
In 2014, Koenig investigated the case for her podcast Serial. She exposed inconsistencies in the prosecution’s claims. Her reporting cast doubt on Syed’s conviction, shifting public opinion and igniting a movement for justice.
Adnan Syed’s conviction was overturned in 2022 with a substantial amount of new evidence coming through the cracks. New witnesses with new testimonies, cell phone data questioned, and overwhelming pressure from the public for the evidence to be inadmissible led to all charges to be dropped against Syed.
However, the debate of innocence or guiltiness has yet to end. It is often believed by the public that cases have to be either 100% correct – they got the bad guy and served justice. Or they are 100% wrong – the guy was innocent and the perpetrator is still out there. It may be proven that Syed was a victim of wrongful conviction, but this case could prove that it can both be true that the legal case was imperfect and Syed was guilty. The ongoing back and forth on this case is still ongoing and justice is still trying to persevere for Hae Min Lee.
2. The Central Park 5
On a crisp April evening in 1989, five teens’ lives changed forever. In New York City’s Central Park, someone brutally attacked and nearly killed 28-year-old investment banker Trisha Meili. As media hysteria erupted, police swiftly arrested five Black and Latino teens—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—ages 14 to 16, all from Harlem.
The police determined the teens had been in the park that night, but their involvement remained unclear. Under intense NYPD interrogation, without parents or legal counsel, they gave confessions that were later proven to be coerced. Racial tensions ran high, influencing how investigators handled the case.
The trial moved quickly despite an absurd lack of physical—or any—evidence linking them to the crime. Their convictions rested solely on coerced confessions as the city demanded justice. Sentences ranged from six to thirteen years. Throughout their incarceration, they maintained their innocence, insisting police intimidation forced them to confess. Believing they had no other option, they took the blame, thinking it was their best chance at survival.
In 2002, Matias Reyes, a convicted serial rapist and murderer, confessed to attacking Meili on that April night. His detailed account matched the crime scene evidence. A DNA test confirmed his guilt and conclusively exonerated the five youths overnight. Their convictions were vacated, and they became known as the “Exonerated Five” instead of the “Central Park Five.”
This story highlights the resilience of five young men who fought against wrongful conviction. They now work together, advocating for others facing similar injustices.
3. Richard Jewell
On the night of July 27, 1997, during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park buzzed with sports fans, couples, and those enjoying the night. Among the crowd, security guard Richard Jewell spotted an unattended green backpack beneath a bench. Trusting his instincts, he alerted Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents and helped clear civilians from the area. Moments later, the bomb inside the bag exploded, killing one person and injuring over a hundred others. Initially, officials praised Jewell for his heroism in saving lives.
However, the narrative quickly turned against him. Just days after the bombing, law enforcement leaks suggested Jewell fit the profile of a “lone bomber.” The media latched onto this angle, painting him as guilty before any proof emerged. Reporters trashed him, law enforcement tore apart his home in searches, and his personal life faced relentless scrutiny. Despite a complete lack of evidence, the public had already decided his fate.
In October 1996, three months later, law enforcement officially cleared Jewell’s name. However, much of the public refused to acknowledge his innocence, still associating him with the attack. Years later, in 2005, the true bomber, Eric Rudolph, confessed to the crime, along with bombings at two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar.
The media finally had switched from the Jewell narrative to the Rudolph story, following the manhunt that took the FBI five years to finish. Jewell settled libel lawsuits with several organizations, but the damage to his life was too profound. He passed in 2007 from heart failure, a reminder his story was altered due to a court of public opinion’s wrongful conviction.
