Maryland's Supreme Court reinstated Adnan Syed's murder conviction Friday, ruling the 2022 court hearing that freed the accused killer violated the rights of his alleged victim's family.
The 4-3 ruling came nearly a year after the court heard arguments in October in the case that gained notoriety from the hit 2014 true-crime podcast "Serial."
Syed was convicted in 2000 of killing high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee after she was found strangled to death in an unmarked grave, and he was initially sentenced to life in prison, plus 30 years.
In September 2022, a Baltimore court overturned Syed's conviction after city prosecutors found flaws in their evidence after Syed had served 22 years behind bars.
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The panel of seven judges wrote in its ruling that Lee's family had a right to participate in the 2022 hearing, saying that the victim's brother Young Lee, was not given reasonable notice and, therefore, not treated with "dignity, respect and sensitivity."
"In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee," the justices wrote in their decision.
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The panel said Syed, who was 17 when he was arrested and is now 43, can remain free as the case heads to a new lower court judge to determine again whether his conviction can be tossed out.
The Lee family must be given notice of the new hearing "sufficient to provide Mr. Lee with a reasonable opportunity to attend such a hearing in person" and speak out if he chooses.
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David Sanford, an attorney who represents Lee's family, told The Associated Press the higher court's ruling "acknowledges what Hae Min Lee's family has argued: Crime victims have a right to be heard in court."
But Syed's lawyer, Erica Suter, argued that the state did meet its obligation and invited Young Lee to participate in the hearing via video conference.
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The ruling is the latest twist in Syed's long legal battle. In 2019, a court ruled 4-3 to deny the accused killer another trial. A lower court had ordered a retrial in 2015 on the grounds Syed's attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, didn't contact an alibi witness and therefore did not provide effective counsel, according to the AP.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the court's decision.
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Prosecutors chose to vacate Syed's sentence in 2022 after reviewing evidence in his case under a Maryland law that targeted "juvenile lifers" because he was under 18 when Hae Min Lee's body was found.
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They said they used "advanced DNA" testing to determine that Syed was not responsible for Hae's murder and pointed to other potential suspects, including one who had allegedly threatened Hae and another linked to an address where her car was later discovered.
"The state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction," prosecutors said at the time.
Syed has maintained his innocence, often expressing concern for the victim's family, according to the AP.
