Adnan’s Story Summary
Being a huge fan of the Serial Podcast, I listened to Adnan Syed’s story and also did some research myself after listening to the Podcast in 2014, since recently I heard there was a new book “Adnan’s Story” published by Rabia Chaudry talking about Adnan’s story, I couldn’t wait to read this book.
This book was absolutely intriguing! I learned so much extra details that the Podcast didn’t provide and it’s very up-to-date as well, since it was published in September 2016. Her writing style included letters from Adnan who wrote in his incarceration, it let us get to know a bit more about him as well.
If you are interested in reading true crime stories, you definitely should pick up this book. If you don’t know this story, you can listen to Serial and Undisclosed from Podcast. If you already know the story, by reading the book you will get so much details about the investigation and how much time and energy that all the supporters of the case have been put in.
Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore in January of 1999 and has been imprisoned since he was arrested later that year. His long time family friend, Rabia Chaudry first sent his case to Sarah Koenig asking her to look into the case. Sarah was as infatuated with the case as the rest of the world, and Serial for Podcast became a smash hit, but it didn’t tell the whole story. While Sarah very clearly played the role of a journalist, reporting strictly facts and never revealing to listeners whether or not she personally believed he was guilty or innocent, Rabia has always steadfastly stood by Adnan, knowing he could not possibly be capable of such a heinous crime. She went to great lengths to get his case in front of the best and brightest minds, like her fellow law associates Susan Simpson and Colin Miller, etc to make sure to revisit all the evidences and investigate in a great depth.
The following are the things I have learned from the book:
- I have some thought about our justice system is not just deeply flawed, it is broken. it discriminate people by their religions, ethnicity, races and etc. Adnan’s faith was actual evidence against him. People always have perception of biases. The entire system is impacted by these biases. Rabia said “To equal treatment before the law when your likelihood of arrest and ability to secure a solid defense are completely dependent on racial-socioeconomic factors. “
- Most people have their own preconceived prejudices. From the commonly known confirmation bias, which compels us to seek information that confirms our existing beliefs, to the misinformation effect in which people suffer from less accurate memories because of post-event information given to them.
- Hire a sincere and responsible lawyer is extremely important. When the defendant has not enough knowledge about law, it is very easy to be screwed and manipulated not only by the prosecutor, but also by their own lawyers. We all should study some basic knowledge about law to protect ourselves from the reality.
- police officers and prosecutors paid by our tax dollars should have full accountability to protect and serve civilians. We are all depends on you, please don’t fail us!
I hope my summary is helpful for you to get a quick view of the book, please share with me your thoughts!
