Murder Conviction Of 'Serial' Podcast Subject Adnan Syed Reinstated

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Photo: Tribune News Service

The Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, whose case was featured on the podcast Serial. The court ruled that prosecutors failed to notify the family of Hae Min Lee, who was murdered in 1999, about the hearing to vacate Syed's conviction.

A new hearing will be held to determine if his case should be vacated.

"We can do that, and accordingly, we vacate the circuit court's order vacating Mr. Syed's convictions, which results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence," Judges Kathryn Grill Graeff and E. Gregory Wells wrote in their decision. "We remand for a new, legally compliant, and transparent hearing on the motion to vacate, where Mr. Lee is given notice of the hearing that is sufficient to allow him to attend in person, evidence supporting the motion to vacate is presented, and the court states its reasons in support of its decision."

The ruling comes six months after Syed was released from prison after new evidence and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct surfaced. He spent over 20 years behind bars after he was convicted of killing Lee, who was his girlfriend at the time. He has maintained his innocence.

It is unclear if Syed will have to return to prison until the new hearing.


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