The Supreme Court of Maryland has agreed to hear an appeal from Adnan Syed, months after his murder conviction was reinstated.
Syed was convicted in 2000 of killing his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, whose body was discovered partially buried in a Baltimore Park the year prior. The case drew widespread interest when it was chronicled in the first season of Serial, a true crime podcast.
Syed was handed a life sentence, but was released from prison in September last year after a Maryland circuit court judge vacated his conviction. She said prosecutors had failed to present evidence which could have benefited Syed at his original trial in 2000.
However, the victim’s brother, Young Lee, appealed against the decision, arguing he wasn’t given enough time to attend an important hearing in the case.
In March this year, an appellate court panel agreed and reinstated Syed’s murder conviction. It also ordered a do-over of the hearing which saw his conviction be vacated.
Syed’s lawyer, Erica Suter, appealed against that ruling to the Supreme Court of Maryland, which is the state’s highest court.
She said Syed’s legal team and family are “optimistic that we will prevail”.
“The legal team and Adnan’s family are also grateful that the court extended the stay so we can be assured that Adnan will remain free while this appeal is pending,” she said, per The Washington Post.
According to the publication, if the appeal is successful, Syed’s murder conviction could be cleared.
The Lee family has also filed a petition to the Supreme Court, requesting that victims have more involvement in hearings to overrule convictions.
“The State of Maryland supports victims and their families with rights acknowledged by Maryland’s own state constitution and statutory scheme,” David Sanford, a lawyer for the Lee family, said, per ABC News.
“We will urge the Maryland Supreme Court to recognise those rights by allowing Young Lee and his family the opportunity to challenge the state’s evidence, to the extent it has any evidence, suggesting Adnan Syed did not murder Young Lee’s sister 23 years ago.”
The Supreme Court of Maryland has scheduled oral arguments for both sides for October 5.
Image credit: Lloyd Fox / The Baltimore Sun via Getty Images
