In this post I’m going to try to stay away from the
“whodunit” even though it’s incredibly tempting given the discussion Koenig is
having in this episode is about the prosecutor’s case. Several things both in
this episode as well as what I found online intrigued me this week: the first
was the random point in the episode when Koenig muses about the fact that she
has these “theories” on alternate possibilities of the day but that they all
get shot down when she comes back to the Nisha call… I thought that the
placement of this random side reflection was exceptionally random in the
episode à
like it literally just seemed like a tangent and a filler of space so I was
left quite confused regarding why it was important. Additionally, it sort of
set up the end of the episode which focused much more on Koenig herself and her
relationship with Adnan than anything material to the case. While I understand
that in storytelling it is important to build a connection between the
reader/listener and the narrator I found myself quite confused as to why she
felt this was necessary or of interest to the listener… At this point I found
myself actually quite annoyed with the lack of information and the ratio
between pertinent case-related discussion and filler side-note-tangent information.
This week I also did some research into articles and
interviews done with members of Adnan’s family as well as Jay and there were a
couple interesting things that really stuck out to me. The first was this
comment made by a Judge who was in Adnan’s second trial, she states “I listened
to the podcast and saw how this very intelligent young man [Adnan] manipulated
the writer [Keonig]. The evidence was overwhelming. I can see how 16 years
later he has regret that he wasted his life by planning and carrying out the
murder of his girlfriend. Very sad indeed” (http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/dec/07/serial-adnan-syed-family-podcast-interview)
Personally, this struck a cord as the judge was essentially saying that Adnan
and Rabia were taking Koenig for a trip and that there was no question in her
mind, as a judge, that he was guilty. Taken in conjunction with the statement
from the producer of the show that we discussed a couple of weeks ago who
stated that he thought Adnan was guilty as well I’m wondering if there remains
some hugely incriminating piece of evidence that Sarah has left to share with
the listeners. For me, there is certainly no clear argument for Adnan being
either guilty or innocent so I am extremely curious to know what it is that
prompted these people to have such extreme opinions or if it is just people
trying to retro-actively justify their decisions…
I am actually quite shocked to hear the judge say that! I agree that it makes me wonder if there's something that Koenig has left out, or perhaps Yusuf is right and that only means she's rattled. It's incredibly hard to believe anyone can be so certain based solely on Jay's testimony and half-matching phone records. Jay does seem to be credible witness in several senses-- he knew where Hae's car was located, the phone records at least partially matched, etc. But from a legal standpoint, all this proves was that Jay did indeed have Adnan's phone and was somehow involved in Hae's murder. To me, this means there's either a good chunk of information we have yet to learn or that the prosecution was just very convincing in trial.
ReplyDeleteThe article you mention is very interesting. I agree that the judge’s certainty about Adnan is perplexing. She even goes so far as to say “the evidence was overwhelming,” which is a phrase I would argue that not many people have said regarding this case. Perhaps, as both of you have already mentioned, there is another large piece of this puzzle that allows the judge to feel so strongly in her conviction, yet from this point it is not readily apparent. Also, the idea that she believes so whole-heartedly that Adnan has “manipulated” Keonig is interesting. Clearly, Keonig has gone through extensive measures with her team to investigate this case, so the idea that she has been completely “manipulated."
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that stood out to me was the depth of appreciation to Keonig that Adnan’s family expresses in this article. Koenig is not seeking to prove Adnan’s innocence, she is strictly looking into the investigation. And thus far, she has yet to come down on one side or the other of the case. However, it is clear that the family, for the most part is grateful for the questioning and publicity surrounding Adnan’s case, almost polar opposite to Hae’s family’s response. Bringing up questions of the show’s ethics once again.
I find the article really interesting as well though I guess we all do at this point. However, I would like to point out that its effect of making us doubt Keonig should really be even stronger based off the responses of other people we've heard thus far. Ira Glass, the detectives, and now this judge are pretty sure that Adnaan is guilty and yet Keonig makes it seem so uncertain. With the exception of maybe Ira Glass, these people should be pretty qualified in expressing these views and I still find it hard to believe they can be so falsely convinced. Additionally, I think it's weird that Yusuf seems to interpret the judge's statement in a different way, thinking that it meant that the judge had regrets or something. I'm not sure how you could interpret the comment this way though; have any of you thought of it like that?
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Lucia mentioned above me that Keonig has not yet come down on one side of the case. However, while it is clear that she has neither absolutely condemned nor exonerated Adnan, she does seem like she might be biasing the facts one way or another. This might not even be intentional, but it could definitely be happening and I wonder if she is truly biased in her heart of hearts.