Adnan Syed murder conviction reinstated

Maryland’s second highest court has reinstated the conviction and sentence of Adnan Syed, whose murder investigation and trial centered on the podcast “Serial,” and a lower court overturned his conviction last year. At the time, he said he had violated the rights of the victim’s family. .

Maryland Court of Appeals Decided by a 2 to 1 decision The circuit court that reversed Syed’s conviction failed to give the family of Hae Min Lee, a teenage girl Syed was previously convicted of murder, sufficient notice to appear at a hearing.

It was unclear if Saeed would be ordered back to prison after the appeals court called for a “legally compliant and transparent new hearing” on his conviction.

Said was 17 when he was arrested in 1999 for murdering his ex-girlfriend Lee. However, Saeed’s supporters insisted on his innocence and appealed to the courts to overturn his conviction.

His story later became the centerpiece of the hit podcast “Serial,” hosted by investigative journalist Sarah Koenig. Said has always maintained his innocence.

The Baltimore Circuit Court in September ordered the city to close after an investigation found that prosecutors at the time had mishandled evidence of potential innocence and raised the possibility of at least two viable alternative suspects. At the request of the prosecutor of , Syed’s sentence was reversed. Prosecutors then dropped the charges against Syed, citing the DNA evidence that acquitted him.

However, Lee’s brother appealed the decision to vacate Syed’s conviction, saying it took less than a business day to receive notice of the hearing that dropped Syed’s conviction.

The Court of Appeals said the “order” would be stayed for 60 days to allow the parties to decide how to proceed from the decision to restore the conviction and sentence.

The Baltimore City Attorney’s Office told The Hill it was in a “pending pattern” as it waited for the appeals process to be completed, and did not answer whether it expected Syed to be sent back to prison. I didn’t.

“This office is currently reviewing the decision,” a spokesman for the city of Baltimore’s state attorney said in a statement to The Hill. “We must allow the appeals process to proceed. Mr. Said and his legal team can appeal to the Supreme Court of Maryland, where those rights will be heard, or the request made. their rights must be respected until the is denied; we are in a pending pattern; further comment is premature at this time.”

— 15:42 update