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Adnan Syed, of ‘Serial’ Podcast, Gets a Retrial in Murder Case Adnan Syed, of ‘Serial’ Podcast, Gets a Retrial in Murder Case
(35 minutes later)
A judge in Maryland has granted Adnan Syed a new trial, setting aside his conviction for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend — a case that was featured in the first season of the hit podcast “Serial.” A judge in Maryland has granted a new trial to Adnan Syed, setting aside his conviction for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend, in a case that was the subject of the first season of the hit podcast “Serial.”
Mr. Syed’s lawyer, C. Justin Brown, tweeted the news Thursday afternoon and confirmed by phone that the motion for a retrial was granted by Judge Martin Welch of the Baltimore Circuit Court. Mr. Syed’s lawyer, C. Justin Brown, posted the news on Twitter on Thursday afternoon and confirmed by phone that the motion for a new trial had been granted by Judge Martin Welch of the Baltimore Circuit Court.
The decision to grant Mr. Syed, 35, a retrial is a major victory for an inmate who has long maintained his innocence and has exhausted all other avenues of appeal. He was convicted of the murder of Hae Min Lee in 2000 and has served 16 years of a life sentence in prison. The decision to grant Mr. Syed, 35, a retrial was a major victory for an inmate who has long maintained his innocence and has exhausted all other avenues of appeal. He was convicted of the murder of Hae Min Lee in 2000 and had served 16 years of a life sentence in prison.
“Serial” turned speculation about Mr. Syed’s guilt and whether he had received a fair trial into something of a national pastime in 2014. The show was downloaded more than 100 million times and won a Peabody Award for its role in illuminating flaws in the criminal justice system.
At a news conference in Baltimore on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Brown was asked if he thought there was any chance that the retrial could have come about without “Serial.”At a news conference in Baltimore on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Brown was asked if he thought there was any chance that the retrial could have come about without “Serial.”
“I don’t think so,” he said.“I don’t think so,” he said.
The podcast turned speculation about Mr. Syed’s guilt and whether he had received a fair trial into something of a national pastime in 2014. The show was downloaded more than 100 million times and won a Peabody Award for its role in illuminating flaws in the criminal justice system.
On the possibility that Mr. Syed may eventually go free, Mr. Brown said: “I’m feeling pretty confident right now. This was the biggest hurdle. It’s really hard to get a new trial.”On the possibility that Mr. Syed may eventually go free, Mr. Brown said: “I’m feeling pretty confident right now. This was the biggest hurdle. It’s really hard to get a new trial.”
Mr. Brown said that he had not been able to reach Mr. Syed to tell him the news.Mr. Brown said that he had not been able to reach Mr. Syed to tell him the news.
The family of Ms. Lee has expressed pain and outrage at the attention surrounding Mr. Syed’s bid for a new trial. In a statement in February, the family said: The family of Ms. Lee previously expressed pain and outrage at the attention surrounding Mr. Syed’s bid for a new trial. In a statement in February, the family said: “It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Hae.”
“It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Hae.” There was no immediate word from the Maryland attorney general’s office whether it would appeal the case.
Mr. Syed’s brother, Yusuf, 26, said in an interview on Thursday that the family had high hopes for today’s outcome, based on the strength of the legal arguments and the outpouring of support.
“We really felt 100 percent that the judge would rule in our favor,” he said, adding, “We’ve been waiting 20 years for this.”
Rabia Chaudry, a family friend of Mr. Syed’s who first introduced Sarah Koenig, the host of “Serial,” to the case, celebrated the decision online, thanking the judge, witnesses and others who had helped in the case.Rabia Chaudry, a family friend of Mr. Syed’s who first introduced Sarah Koenig, the host of “Serial,” to the case, celebrated the decision online, thanking the judge, witnesses and others who had helped in the case.
The decision follows three days of post-conviction hearings in February, during which Mr. Syed and his legal team presented new evidence, including the testimony of a new alibi witness, and argued that his original defense counsel had been grossly negligent. The judge’s decision came months after three days of post-conviction hearings in February. Mr. Syed and his legal team had presented new evidence, including the testimony of a new alibi witness, and argued that his original defense counsel had been grossly negligent.
The post-trial proceedings were held before Mr. Welch, a retired judge, who had granted Mr. Syed’s request for a hearing in November. Mr. Syed first filed a request for a post-conviction hearing in 2010, but was denied. The post-trial proceedings were held before Judge Welch, a retired judge, who had granted Mr. Syed’s request for a hearing in November. Mr. Syed first filed a request for a post-conviction hearing in 2010, but was denied.
At the hearing in February, Mr. Syed’s defense challenged the testimony of an AT&T engineer whose sworn statements on cellphone data were used to link Mr. Syed to the park where Ms. Lee’s body was buried. The engineer, Abraham Waranowitz, said he was not shown a crucial disclaimer about cell tower data that would have affected his testimony in the murder trial. Mr. Syed’s defense argued in February that the decision by Mr. Syed’s lawyer in the original trial, Maria Cristina Gutierrez, not to question a state’s expert, Abraham Waranowitz, about the reliability of evidence relating to cellphone towers constituted ineffective assistance.
It was on that issue that the judge granted Mr. Syed a new trial. The judge’s decision to grant Mr. Syed a new trial turned on that issue. In a memo, Judge Welch wrote that Ms. Gutierrez’s failure to question Mr. Waranowitz “created a substantial possibility that the result of the trial was fundamentally unreliable.”
Much of the defense team’s argument for a retrial, however, centered on the testimony of Asia McClain, an alibi witness who also figured prominently in “Serial.” Judge Welch also said in the memo that the substantial public interest in the case did not affect his decision.
Ms. McClain testified that she had seen and chatted with Mr. Syed in a public library in Woodlawn, Md., at the time Ms. Lee was killed. She was not called as a defense witness in the original trial. Mr. Brown had argued that the decision not to call Ms. McClain to testify deeply damaged the defendant’s case and constituted gross negligence on the part of his original trial lawyer, Maria Cristina Gutierrez. “Regardless of the public interest surrounding this case, the court used its best efforts to address the merits of petitioner’s petition for post-conviction relief like it would in any other case that comes before the court; unfettered by sympathy, prejudice, or public opinion,” he wrote.
Ms. Gutierrez was a prominent Baltimore defense lawyer in the 1990s whose career crumbled in 2001 when she agreed to her own disbarment after a state commission uncovered financial improprieties involving her clients. Ms. Gutierrez was a prominent Baltimore defense lawyer in the 1990s whose career crumbled in 2001 when she was disbarred after a state commission uncovered financial improprieties involving her clients. She told The Baltimore Sun at the time that her legal practice suffered in part because of severe medical problems related to multiple sclerosis. She died of a heart attack in 2004.
She told The Baltimore Sun at the time that her legal practice suffered in part because of severe medical problems related to multiple sclerosis. She died of a heart attack in 2004. On Thursday, hundreds of fans of “Serial” took to social media, some of them to celebrate the news and others to emphasize that they still believed Mr. Syed was guilty.
The “Serial” podcast recently ended its second season, which told the story of Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier in Afghanistan who was captured by the Taliban in 2009 and released as part of a prisoner swap in 2014. The podcast recently ended its second season, which told the story of Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier in Afghanistan who was captured by the Taliban in 2009 and released as part of a prisoner swap in 2014.