‘Serial’ saga: Appeals court reinstates Adnan Syed’s murder conviction
An appeals court in Maryland on Tuesday reinstated the conviction and life sentence of Adnan Syed in the 1999 murder of Hai Min Lee because her family wasn’t given ample notice to attend the hearing overturning the case.
Syed, 41, served 23 years in prison for the slaying of his former girlfriend and high school classmate Lee, 18. Hit podcast “Serial” did a deep dive into Syed’s case and raised questions about whether he was the true killer — eventually leading to the conviction getting tossed in September.
But Lee’s brother, Young Lee, appealed the decision and demanded the conviction be reinstated, calling for a new hearing in Syed’s case on the grounds that the family’s rights were violated when the state failed to give them proper notice of the hearing last fall.
The Appellate Court in Maryland sided with Young Lee, reinstating the conviction and sentence against Syed until a new hearing on the state’s motion to vacate the case could be held where Lee’s family has the opportunity to attend.
“Because the circuit court violated Mr. Lee’s right to notice of, and his right to attend, the hearing on the State’s motion to vacate … this Court has the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy,” the 2-1 decision reads.
Young attended the Sept. 19 hearing from California via Zoom, claiming he only found out about it three days prior through email.
“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,” the appellate court wrote.
Syed’s lawyer Erica J. Suter said they plan to seek an appeal with Maryland’s highest court and said her client remains free for now.
“It took over two decades for prosecutors to finally acknowledge what Adnan Syed and his loved ones have been saying since day one: he did not murder Hae Min Lee,” Suter said.
“We agree with the dissenting judge that the appeal is moot and that Mr. Lee’s attendance over Zoom was sufficient,” she said. “There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon.”
Suter said they “will continue to fight until Adnan’s convictions are fully vacated. Ensuring justice for Hae Min Lee does not require injustice for Adnan.”
But the court said the decision wouldn’t take effect for 60 days to give the parties time to decide whether to appeal.
Lee’s body was discovered partially buried in Baltimore’s Leakin Park on Feb. 9, 1999, nearly a month after she went missing after school.
Syed, then 17, was arrested for the Feb. 18 fatal strangling and was eventually sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
A first trial against him in 1999 ended in a mistrial.
But Syed was convicted and sentenced at a second trial in 2000.
Prosecutors in October dropped the charges against Syed, citing holes in DNA evidence.
“Serial” — which came out in 2014 — featured prison interviews with Syed professing his innocence. Lee’s family has maintained that Syed was the culprit.
“We are delighted that the Appellate Court of Maryland agrees with Mr. Lee that his right to have reasonable notice of the Syed vacatur hearing and his right to be physically present at that hearing were violated by the trial court,” Lee family attorney David Sanford said in a statement.
“We are equally pleased that the Appellate Court is directing the lower court to conduct a transparent hearing where the evidence will be presented in open court and the court’s decision will be based on evidence for the world to see.”
James E. Bentley II – spokesman for the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City which made the motion to vacate the conviction – said the office is “in a holding pattern,” while everyone reviews the decision.
“We must allow the appeals process to play itself out, Mr. Syed and his legal team may file for an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court, and we must respect their rights to do so until those rights are either heard or that request is denied,” Bentley said.
