Adnan Syed hired by Georgetown University

Analysis: Adnan Syed charges dropped

Washington Post reporter Emily Davies discusses what happened and what's next after charges were dropped against Adnan Syed.

WASHINGTON - Adnan Syed, the man who spent 23 years of a life sentence on a murder charge that was recently overturned, is now working for Georgetown University.

The school published a profile piece on Syed this week, chronicling his first visit to the school as an employee.

On Dec. 12, Syed started his new position as a program associate for Georgetown's Prisons and Justice Initiative.

In his new role, the university said he will support PJI programs, which aim to address mass incarceration and assist returning citizens.

The on-campus organization also offers educational classes for incarcerated individuals, similar to the bachelor of liberal arts program Syed participated in while he was imprisoned.

Adnan Syed leaves the courthouse after being released from prison Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. (Lloyd Fox/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Now, the 41-year-old hopes to pay it forward and help prisoners receive the same educational opportunities he did. He wants to continue his schooling at Georgetown and one day go to law school.

Syed called his new position with PJI a "full circle moment" and said the organization changed his life, and his family's.

The Director of PJI, Marc Howard, told the school: "Adnan’s commitment to the program and to his education was clear from the moment he stepped into the classroom. We were thrilled to see him exonerated and then be able to welcome him to the Prisons and Justice Initiative. He is one of the most resilient and inspiring people I’ve ever met, and he has so much to offer our team and the other students in PJI programs."

On Sept. 19, a Baltimore judge overturned Syed's murder conviction in the 1999 killing of his former girlfriend after additional DNA testing excluded him as a suspect in the case that was chronicled by the hit podcast "Serial."

When he walked out of the Baltimore prison that day, a photographer caught Syed smirking, while carrying a navy blue binder with a Georgetown bulldog sticker on it.