Less than two years after Adnan Syed was released from prison, Maryland's top court has ordered a redo on the very hearing that freed him.
On Friday, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld an appellate court's decision from 2023 to reinstate Syed's conviction. That ruling was based on the argument that the murder victim's family did not receive adequate notice about the hearing that led to Syed’s release.
Now, the case will head to a new lower court judge, who will determine the fate of Syed's conviction. The Maryland Supreme Court said Syed can remain free in the meantime.
The 43-year-old spent 23 years in prison for the murder of his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. His case drew national attention after being the main focus of the Serial podcast's first season. The episodes raised doubts about some of the case's evidence and led to calls for a new trial. Syed was originally facing life in prison until a Baltimore judge vacated his conviction in 2022.
Syed went on to work for Georgetown University's Prisons and Justice Initiative. But his case is far from settled. Here's what to know.
A recap of Syed's criminal case
In 1999, Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee's body was discovered in a city park, a few weeks after she had gone missing. Her autopsy determined that she had been strangled to death.
Syed, who had previously dated Lee, was charged with her murder and in 2000, he was sentenced to life in prison. At the time, he was 18 years old.
Syed had long maintained that he was innocent but his case received renewed attention in 2014 after it was chronicled in the debut season of the Serial podcast. Over the course of 12 episodes, Serial probed at the details in Syed's case and exposed flaws in the legal system. One poignant question from the podcast was about the reliability of cellphone tower evidence.
Syed's lawyers raised similar concerns and in 2016, Syed was granted a new trial. The state appealed the ruling and his case went through various courts. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case.
Things took a turn in 2022 after a year-long investigation resulted in new information about two possible, alternative suspects. In September of that year, Syed was released from prison and prosecutors later decided to drop all cases against him.
Why Syed's murder conviction got reinstated
In 2023, Lee's family urged the Appellate Court of Maryland for a redo of the hearing that won Syed his freedom. The family argued that Lee's brother, who lived in California, received about three days notice about the hearing and therefore, was unable to attend in person — violating Maryland victims' rights, the Associated Press reported at the time.
“We’re not on a campaign to have Adnan Syed put back in jail,” attorney David Sanford, representing Lee's family, said in 2023. "This is about respecting victims and their representatives.”
The appellate court ruled in favor of Lee's family and reinstated Syed's murder conviction. The court also a ordered a new hearing in the case. That ruling was upheld by Maryland's highest court on Friday.
"In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee," Maryland's Supreme Court wrote in an opinion on Friday.
What's next
Baltimore's state attorney's office said it was reviewing the high court's decision and had no further details about next steps forward.
In a statement, Lee's family's attorney, Sanford, applauded the court for reaffirming crime victims' rights and giving the family the chance to be heard properly in court.
"If there is compelling evidence to support vacating the conviction of Adnan Syed, we will be the first to agree," Sanford said.
Syed's attorney, Erica Suter, said she disagreed with the court's decision, adding that it will put an emotional toll on both Lee and Syed's family.
"Though this latest ruling is a roadblock in the way of Adnan’s exoneration, we have faith that justice will prevail, and will work tirelessly to clear his name once and for all," Suter said in a statement.
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