Serial --Thorough Journalism documenting difficulty of delivering justice

My son, Sean, told me about the Serial Podcast he and Manon had listened to on their trip to Lake Tahoe.  So I started it.  Wow! I found it to be a very interesting, well-produced show.  It is also excellent documentation of how difficult it is to achieve justice. In the podcast Sarah Koenig describes research and analysis that she did over several years into the conviction of Baltimore area high school student Adnan Syed for the murder of an ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.

The podcast is excellent, and I highly recommend it.  There are lots of other websites that provide additional information: The Daily Dot, Wikipedia, and Serial Wiki.

The murder case and conviction took place 15 years ago, and I don't think I heard anything about it at the time.  Now, this podcast series has rejuvenated interest in the case.  The prosecutor on the case has made a statement, and Huffington Post has had articles about it:

Of course, the podcast was produced as a form of entertainment.  Even though it appears to have been presented in a way that was fair to all sides in the case, it may have twisted or distorted the facts.  I can't be sure.  However, from the information presented in the podcast, it is clear to me:

1. The defense attorney for Adnan may have been "one of the best" --but possibly due to declining health, did not do as good of a job as she should have in this case.
2. The prosecution clearly distorted some of the facts in such a way to make their case stronger, and the defense was ineffective or negligent in not pointing out the problems
3. The prosecution violated some basic rules of courtroom ethics by providing a lawyer to the other prime suspect, Jay.
4. There were many, important, off-the-record negotiations between police and Jay in which it is likely that the police "led" Jay to testify  in such a way that it incriminated Adnan.
5. The Judge was negligent in this case for allowing some of the prosecution shenanigans.
6. The sentence given to Adnan (life plus 30 years) for a murder conviction seems totally out of line, even if it was clear that Adnan had committed the crime.  It seems to me that people convicted of murders that were much more heinous than this one have received less severe sentences.  

It will be interesting to continue to follow what happens in this case.  I hope the DNA tests will be performed and uncover new evidence.  There were those several "outlier" pieces of evidence that seem to confound other theories.  For example if the "serial killer's" DNA is found on Hae, then how would Jay know where Hae's car was located?

I was sorry to see the end of the podcast.  I believe there would be some other interesting areas to explore that could be subjects for future episodes of this series concerning Adnan.  Some of those areas could be:

1. Detailed analysis and description of the history of the judge, prosecutor, and detectives involved with this case.  For example was there any sign of racial prejudice?  Were any of them disciplined?  
2. It isn't clear why the two detectives refused to be interviewed.  They said they weren't permitted to do so?  Who wasn't permitting them to do it?  Did they have something to hide?
3. Has anyone drawn up a physical map of the area with the particular cell tower hits and events and tied them together with travel times?
4.  More of the biography/history of some of the witnesses.  
5. What was Jay now doing?  Has he stayed on the straight and narrow path?  
6. Is there the possibility of using voiceprints technology to determine of some of the recorded answers during interviews or testimony could have been deceptive?
7. Even though Adnan's lawyer died, the staff may have additional information protected by attorney-client privilege.  With permission from Adnan, would there be any value in exploring any of that information?  His lawyer, for example may have had notes that aren't public.  .