The letters from a classmate of Adnan and Hae’s at Woodlawn High School are one of the first pieces of evidence to get our juices flowing and suggest something is amiss with the murder conviction and trial. She writes to Adnan in prison on March 1, 1999, the day he is arrested, saying she remembers speaking to him on January 13 in the Woodlawn library after school. This, according to the state’s timeline, would have made it impossible that he killed Hae (more on the state’s claim Hae was dead by 2:36 p.m.). “I remembered chatting with you Throughout you’re [sic] actions that day, I have reason to believe in your innocence,” she writes. "My boyfriend and his best friend remember seeing you there, too." From the Serial podcast website:
Classmate of Adnan. Claims she saw him in the public library at the time the murder supposedly took place. Her statement never made it to trial; Asia says no lawyer ever contacted her. McClain is a key witness in the case. Her letter (pictured right) is also a key piece of evidence for the defense.
The following is a write up by Rabia Chaudry that explains Mcclain's involvement in the case. THE ALIBI MYSTERY
From the chatter I’ve seen online there seems to be some confusion as to the timeline of events with Asia, the alibi witness who should have been at Adnan’s trial but wasn’t, thanks to his shoddy legal representation. I was in law school when Adnan was arrested and still in law school when he was convicted about a year later, and I can tell you that passionate law students could have defended him better. I digress. So here is a bit of an outline, so it’s clear what happened when:
What she told Sarah in that taped interview we heard in the first podcast is exactly what she told me in person. Voluntarily and without pressure. Why she made that call to the prosecutor and alleged being pressured, I’ll never know. Its also important to note that neither Asia nor Adnan realized the importance of her statement at the time of his arrest. No one knew, in March 1999, what time Hae Min had been killed. The fact that she had been killed between 2:15-2:36 on January 13th, 1999 came to light during his trial, when the prosecution used cell phone evidence to “prove” that was the pertinent window of time. Remember, their case rested on a 2:36 call to the cell phone Jay had, which Jay alleged was Adnan calling to tell him that he had killed Hae and to come pick him up. So by the state’s own evidence, Hae was dead by 2:36. When Asia wrote those letters, in the two days after Adnan was arrested, she had no idea when Hae was killed or how important her testimony was. Neither did Adnan. Which brings me to this: all these years later it seems she still does not understand the importance of her testimony. I don’t know why, but there is a severe disconnect between her cheerfully acknowledging she was with Adnan at the library around 2:30 on January 13, 1999 and her understanding that THAT IS WHEN THE MURDER TOOK PLACE. Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/splitthemoon/2014/10/serial-episodes-1-2-the-alibi-mystery-and-dating-on-the-dl/#ixzz3YTeppez8 |
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