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35 Miss. C. L. Rev. 365 (2016-2017)
Crowdsourcing Justice

handle is hein.journals/miscollr35 and id is 281 raw text is: CROWDSOURCING JUSTICE Tony Jeff* During a five-day period in February 2016, an amazing thing happened: Millions of people followed updates on Twitter and Periscope in anticipation of daily podcasts about a legal hearing. The hearing was neither televised nor about a celebrity. Instead, the hearing related to a murder that occurred seventeen years prior. The fact that so many people followed the hearing was not even the amazing part. The truly amazing part of the story was that some of the evidence-and even some of the theories-presented by the prosecution were investigated, revealed, and vetted by everyday people on the Internet. To understand how the post-conviction relief (PCR) hearing for Adnan Syed in Baltimore, Maryland, came to be so closely followed, we need to go back to October 2014 and Season 1, Episode 1 of the podcast Serial. When Sarah Koenig of This American Life fame introduced the world to the story of Hae Min Lee's murder, the story was already fifteen years old and being produced for a platform-podcasting-that seemed relegated to a niche audience. Thus it was probably a big surprise when Serial became the most popular podcast in history with more than 80 million downloads. It not only brought the conviction of Adnan Syed to the forefront but also revived and rejuvenated podcasts in general. Several podcasts have spun off from Serial, with Undisclosed-The State v. Adnan Syed and Truth & Justice being the most popular. These podcasts not only discuss the story but also give a deeper analysis of the legal issues, evidence, overreaching by the police and prosecutors, and many other details. Although they have not exactly solved the case, the podcasts have led most everyone I know to be convinced that the 2000 conviction of Adnan Syed was a miscarriage of justice. Personally, I am now completely convinced that he is innocent. The fascinating part has been the role these podcasts have played in revealing and analyzing actual evidence in the case. While there have been * Tony Jeff is the current president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. Prior to joining Innovate Mississippi, Mr. Jeff gained corporate experience leading teams in finance, sales, engineering and operations. Additionally, he started two businesses-one around a patent he co-invented and successfully brought to market. Mr. Jeff graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of management, as well as a Masters of Engineering from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. Mr. Jeff participated as a panelist at the Mississippi College Law Review's 2016 symposium Innovation, Entrepreneurship and the Law: The 'Real World' Effects of Mississippi Law on Business and Entrepreneurial Endeavors. This article is written from the author's personal experience. In light of this and the author's expertise, this article does not conform to traditional law review format. The Clarion Ledger previously published a version of this article on February 17, 2016. Tony Jeff, 'Serial' raises crowdsourcing justice, The Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 17, 2016, http://www.clarionledger.com/story/business/businessledger/2016/02/17/tony- jeff-serial-raises-crowdsourcing-justice/80474840/. 365

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