“I think it’s unfortunate that, you know, you have certain attorneys that try to exploit families,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said, clearly a swipe at the lawyer representing the relatives of the late Hae Min Lee, the teenager who for 23 years was the affirmed victim of Adnan Syed, but now no longer.
It apparently wasn’t enough for Mosby to enjoy the national spotlight again, this time for her lead role in Syed’s “Serial” release from prison. Baltimore’s outgoing (and federally indicted) chief prosecutor could not resist a cheap shot at Steve Kelly, the attorney for Lee’s relatives, who feel they were treated as an afterthought once Mosby decided that Syed’s 1999 murder conviction should be vacated.
Mosby dismissed claims that her office had neglected Lee’s family by failing to give Lee’s brother, for one, enough time to get from California to Baltimore for the September hearing that led to Syed’s release. Kelly is taking the Lee family’s grievances to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Though that effort is probably futile at this point, if you were his client — given teres and short notice that the man convicted of killing your sister was suddenly having his conviction vacated — you’d probably claim foul as well.
But, back to Mosby’s cheap shot: “I think it’s unfortunate that … you have certain attorneys that try to exploit families.”
In fact, Kelly is a longtime victims rights advocate, going back to his days at C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air, where he established a program in crime prevention and victims rights and helped start a crime victim’s support organization for Harford County residents . He learned as much as he could about the victim’s rights. As an attorney, he’s represented, pro bono, for years. He’s trained other