Wow: Adnan Syed Has Been Granted a New Trial for the Murder of Hae-Min Lee

By Dustin Rowles | Serial | June 30, 2016 |

By Dustin Rowles | Serial | June 30, 2016 |

Adnan Syed, the man convicted 17 years ago for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae-Min Lee in 1990, has been granted a new trial.

Syed, who was the subject of the first season of the Serial podcast, was apparently granted the appeal on the basis of “the cell tower issue.” As listeners of podcasts may remember, Syed was convicted based, in part, on the timeline established by the prosecution using pings from cell-phone towers. The engineer who provided testimony on the cell phone towers was not offered a crucial disclaimer.

We won on the cell fax cover sheet issue, all thanks to @TheViewFromLL2 !!!!!

— rabia chaudry (@rabiasquared) June 30, 2016

Presumably testimony from Syed’s alibi witness, Asia McClane, also played a role in the appeal. McClane’s testimony was not admitted in the original trial because Syed’s attorney at the time ignored it, which may have given the court reason to retry Syed on the basis of ineffective assistance of council.

There was much debate during the broadcast of the Serial podcast about the guilt or innocence of Adnan Syed, but most who listened to the podcast could agree on one thing: Syed was not granted a fair trial.

This will allow the Baltimore courts to at least correct that mistake, although the prosecution may have a difficult case to make against Syed, considering they will be relying on witnesses who may have disappeared or whose memories may have faded.

This is a win for Syed, and a win for the judicial system.

Thank you Judge Welch. Thank you God. Thank you everyone, every single one of you https://t.co/pFInPsfhmW

— rabia chaudry (@rabiasquared) June 30, 2016

WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED!!! #FreeAdnan

— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016

Source: NYTimes