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| © REUTERS Adnan Syed |
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BALTIMORE
The subject of the popular podcast "Serial" had his murder conviction thrown out for a second time on Thursday, but if Maryland prosecutors appeal the appeals court ruling, it could be many months before he learns if the conviction stands.
[post_ads]Meanwhile, Adnan Syed remains behind bars. Now 38, has been jailed since 1999 in the murder of his high school sweetheart Hae Min Lee, who was found buried in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park that year. Syed was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison. He maintains his innocence.
"Serial," which shattered podcast records, shed new light on the case and cast doubt on his conviction. It also, according to his lawyer C. Justin Brown, set off a groundswell of a support for Syed which has propelled them to their most recent legal victory.
Thursday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals found that Syed had ineffective assistance at his trial because his lawyer failed to interview a possibly crucial alibi witness. The court tossed the convictions and ruled that he should be re-tried.
It was the second time a court ruled in his favor. In 2016, a lower court judge came to the same conclusion, albeit over a different issue — contested cell tower evidence. Prosecutors appealed that decision, and now it's possible they'll appeal again, this time to the state's highest court.
But the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has said only that they are reviewing the court's decision. As of Friday afternoon, they still hadn't announced whether they would take the case to the state's Supreme Court.
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Nor has Syed's lawyer, Brown, decided if he will seek to have Syed released on bail ahead of a possible re-trial. That's a decision he said his team will consider over the next several weeks.
If prosecutors don't appeal, Brown says the case will go to trial in Baltimore "pretty quickly" — a scenario he's hoping for.
"We like our chances — we like them a lot," Brown said. "We think we're going to win a trial."
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