The nightmare is not over for Adnan Syed. His release after 23 years in prison and the quashing of his murder conviction appeared to be the final chapter in his case. A case that gave rise to the hit serial podcast that revolutionized the true crime genre and audio creation in the United States. However, the Maryland Court of Appeals has heard an appeal from family members of the victim, the young woman who was murdered in 1999 at the age of 17 while she was Adnan’s girlfriend. The annulment is canceled and the penalty reinstated. The case goes back to court.
Based on the 87-page verdict released Tuesday, Syed is again found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, although he does not have to return to prison immediately as the verdict takes 60 days to take effect. By a majority of two to one, the court ruled that the judge in Baltimore, Maryland, who ruled last September to overturn Syed’s conviction and release him, failed to give the victim’s family timely notice when they scheduled the hearing .
“The court failed to grant Mr. Lee the rights that should be afforded to a victim or a victim’s representative under applicable Maryland constitutional provisions and law. Accordingly, we will set aside the district court’s judgment and return it for further trial pursuant to that judgment,” the judges said.
Maryland law gives victims the right to advance notice of such hearings, and that right was found violated in the case of Hae Min Lee’s brother. Syed was convicted of the murder of Lee, his former high school sweetheart, whose body was found in a grave after her disappearance in 1999.
Hae Min Lee’s brother was told Friday afternoon that a hearing would be held on Monday to review Syed’s sentence. “An email sent one business day prior to the hearing on Monday September 19, 2022 was not sufficient to reasonably allow Mr. Lee, who resided in California, to attend the hearing as was his right was,” says the verdict. The special vote believes that right has been fulfilled in these post-pandemic times by allowing the murdered woman’s brother to connect to the view via Zoom, but the other two judges believe that is not enough.
Lee asked for a one-week postponement so he could attend in person, but was denied. “We believe that where, as in this case, the victim of a crime or the victim’s representative expresses to the court their desire to personally attend an annulment hearing, all other persons involved in the case will be permitted person to attend, and there are no compelling reasons compelling the victim to attend the hearing remotely, a court compelling the victim to attend the hearing remotely violates the victim’s right to attend the hearing,” it said. “Allowing a victim entitled to attend a court hearing to attend in person when the victim and all others involved in the hearing request to appear in person is consistent with the constitutional requirement that victims be treated with dignity and respect ‘ he added.
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Adnan Syed was the star of Serial, the 2014 podcast that captivated Americans for months and raised doubts about the justice of his imprisonment. Syed, of Pakistani origin, who is now 41, has always defended his innocence. His case became known in 2014 thanks to journalist Sarah Koenig. In a 12-part podcast, Koenig went into detail about the case and questioned the investigation and the validity of the evidence presented in the trial. Then there was even a documentary on HBO.
The journalist conducted interviews with the convict, his friends and acquaintances and the victim, visited the crime scenes and went through the details of the investigation. He also investigated the figure of his attorney, who was later disqualified on charges of misconduct. Originally broadcast on public radio, the podcast broke download records. Millions of Americans wondered whether Syed was guilty or innocent every week. Many were a bit disappointed with the ending that wasn’t conclusive, and for that reason enthusiastically lived last September’s extra chapter.
The Baltimore prosecutor’s office requested that the conviction be vacated, alleging that after a year of investigations, new information had emerged that there were two other potential suspects in the murder and that some of the evidence used at the trial was unreliable. Judge Melissa Phinn overturned the life sentence and placed Syed under house arrest while prosecutors decided on a new charge. The prosecutor refused and Syed was released.
Now the opinion on the annulment of the judgment must be repeated. With prosecutors on the side of the accused, it becomes very difficult not to overturn the verdict. Unless there’s a new script twist, of course.
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