More Questions than Answers

The ending of Serial was extremely frustrating. In the beginning of the final episode, Sarah Koenig stated that by the end of this episode we would have some closure. There was no closure though, only more open ended questions and a new possibilities of who could have killed Hae.

After listening to this series, it worrisome that there could be an innocent man sitting in jail for a murder that he may not have committed. There is a lack of physical evidence against Adnan. Of course Jay’s story might hold some truth but there are huge inconsistencies in both of their stories. Who is lying, and where do the lies start? For example, in the last 15 minutes of Koenig’s final episode she speculates that neither Adnan nor Jay killed Hae. A few days before Hae's murder, a rapist and murderer named Ronald was released from jail. Ronald was arrested later for a murder similar to Hae’s.  This speculation could be just that but every lead must be exhausted when the serious possibility exists that a man has been wrongly convicted.

This case is very messy and is built largely on circumstantial evidence. If Adnan is responsible for Hae's murder, he should face justice. If not, he will sit in jail for the rest of his life. At the end of the Serial podcast, another question is raised. How can this be reconciled?

Case Closed

After actively listening to the podcast Serial it appears that both Adnan and Jay were involved with Hae Min Lee’s murder.  This speculation began when first hearing with Adnan muttering to Jay that he was pathetic during court and then further proven throughout the podcast when Jay’s accounts actually matched up with the police’s findings throughout the case. It is reasonable to believe that post murder, Jay couldn't handle the pressure of having a girl's death on his conscious and then thought to save himself.  Through his plea bargain, he also got legal counsel pro bono and in turn the police system helped him win his case.

With Jay as an informant, the “Justice” system’s job is made easy.  With his cooperation it is easy for them to form a case proving Adnan as murderer due to his perceived double life and motives to kill Hae. It is not unreasonable to believe that he went to Jay either for help or advice on how to get away with the murder and Jay obliged to fulfill his gangster persona.  Once Jay realized what happened and realized that he was also an accessory to murder, he came forward and helped police with the case.  If Jay was in fact an informant then it also explains the inconsistencies in his stories given.  If under pressure from the police to “do the right thing” he could have been forced to say just about anything.

We have learned through all  taught in this class is that all the system cares about is numbers. To them this case is already closed and they have moved on regardless of Serial’s following or what its fans believe.