Adnan Syed’s homicide conviction has been reinstated within the newest improvement within the extended case featured within the hit podcast Serial.
At the age of 17, Syed was sentenced to life in jail in 2000 for the homicide of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee, his former girlfriend and classmate.
Ms Lee was strangled and buried in Baltimore Park in 1999.
However, the 41-year-old was launched in October after Baltimore City State Attorney stated DNA proof supported his innocence of being concerned within the homicide.
Following that call, Ms Lee’s household filed an enchantment arguing that they weren’t notified of the efforts made to launch Syed.
And on Tuesday, the court docket in Maryland reinstated the homicide conviction and ordered a brand new listening to within the case.
The court docket’s determination, dominated by the Appellate Court of Maryland, said {that a} decrease court docket failed to provide enough discover to the sufferer’s household when it scheduled a listening to in September final 12 months, which allowed Syed to regain his freedom.
Here’s what occurred
In September 2022, after reviewing the case, prosecutors concluded that new proof was discovered which undermined Syed’s conviction and pointed to 2 different suspects.
The decrease court docket then scheduled a listening to on the state’s movement to vacate the case.
Due to brief discover, Young Lee, Hae Min’s brother, couldn’t attend the listening to in individual.
Mr Lee requested for the choose to postpone the proceedings for one week so he may very well be there in individual, however that didn’t occur and he was compelled to attend by way of Zoom.
Maryland legislation gives victims with the proper to prior discover of those hearings – and it was determined that rule was violated.
‘The new listening to must be extra clear’
In court docket attorneys argued the sufferer’s household had been handled as an “afterthought” when prosecutors determined their case was really flawed from the start and the appellate court docket agreed.
“Allowing a victim entitled to attend a court proceeding to attend in person, when the victim makes that request and all other persons involved in the hearing appear in person, is consistent with the constitutional requirement that victims be treated with dignity and respect,” the court docket dominated.
The court docket additionally stated the brand new listening to must be extra clear and requires proof if the movement to vacate is offered and the court docket should give a purpose for its determination.
The order, nevertheless, doesn’t go into impact for 60 days.
Read extra:
Charges towards topic of hit podcast Serial dropped weeks after conviction overturned
Adnan Syed: Former girlfriend’s household requires his homicide conviction to be reinstated
In an announcement, Ms Lee’s household stated they had been “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”.
Syed’s lawyer Erica Suter stated the enchantment was “not about Adnan’s innocence but about notice and mootness”.
“There is no basis for re-traumatising Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon,” Ms Suter added.
The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office is now reviewing the ruling.
Source: information.sky.com”