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Adnan Mania

Someone needs to check up on the prosecution. In an interview with the D.A., The Intercept publicized the D.A.'s claim that "Serial" hadn't "really tried" to track him down. But then "Serial" confirmed it had indeed tried--and had "tried hard." The D.A. then misidentified the date on which "Asia" tried to contact him; he was off by one full year. (A particularly important year.) This guy seems a bit fishy.

That said, the D.A. maintains that the cell-phone data he leaned on was, indeed, accurate. He says that the pro-Adnan camp is talking about cell-phone technology that was introduced after the events surrounding Hae's death. It seems like there should be a clear answer here. Who is right: HBO, or the D.A.?

Adnan reminds me a bit of O.J. Simpson. The intense love; the breakups, the reunions, the new breakups, the new reunions. The fact that Hae found Adnan so intimidating, she asked a teacher to *lie* for her....*to* Adnan's face....None of this is conclusive. But is it terribly difficult to imagine a bright, charismatic, impulsive high-school student--well-liked, accustomed to getting what he wants--having a moment when he "snaps" and does something terrible? One wonders.

What I think I'm learning about the judicial system. You get a certain number of appeals, and then you're through. This latest effort was Adnan's last effort. Now, his side could take their anger to the United States Supreme Court--but it's highly, highly unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court would hear his case. The End.

People have many faces. When talking about "Gloria Bell," Julianne Moore points out that the face you see, from a colleague, or a friend, is just one of a variety of faces. Maybe an infinite number of faces--per person. So the charming Adnan we get from HBO is just one story. It's just one face. It's difficult to remember that--when you're presented with a seductive narrative.

Trial conduct is really about storytelling. The side that has the tidier, more forceful story is the side that wins. But storytelling is a skill that doesn't entirely depend on evidence; if you're gifted, you can lead people to believe things even when you have very few objective facts to point to. What a mess! I sometimes wish I had studied the law...

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