Serial Subject Adnan Syed Granted New Trial 16 Years After Murder Conviction

Serial Subject Adnan Syed Granted New Trial 16 Years After Murder Conviction

The subject of NPR’s podcast Serial Adnan Syed has been given a new lease on life after being convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend Have Min Lee reports The Baltimore Sun:

A Baltimore judge has vacated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular “Serial” podcast that explored his case, and granted his request for a new trial.

The order from retired Judge Martin Welch was handed down in an order Thursday afternoon. Syed has been serving a life sentence since being convicted in 2000 of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a Woodlawn High School classmate, and burying her body in Leakin Park.

Welch wrote in his opinion that Syed’s trial attorney “renedered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state’s expert regarding the reliability of cell tower location evidence.”

Syed’s attorney, C. Justin Brown, broke word of the judge’s ruling on Twitter. “WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED! #FreeAdnan,” he wrote.

Reached by phone, Syed’s brother Yusuf said the family was “feeling great.”

“I had a feeling in my heart it was going to happen,” he said. “We are just very happy. It’s not only a win for us but a win for a lot of people who are stuck in the system because it opened a lot of people’s eyes about the justice system.”

Adnan’s new lawyer tweeted this message:

#FreeAdnan

Discuss.

Twitter