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A Maryland appeals courtroom on Tuesday reinstated the homicide conviction of Adnan Syed, who was discovered responsible of the 1999 killing of his former girlfriend in a case that drew consideration after the podcast “Serial” raised doubts about his guilt.
After an investigation recognized issues with the case, a circuit courtroom decide final yr vacated Syed’s conviction within the homicide of Hae Min Lee and ordered his launch. He had served greater than 20 years in jail.
The decide left it to prosecutors to resolve whether or not to retry him and so they determined to drop the case.
On Tuesday, a Maryland appellate courtroom panel, in a 2-1 determination, ordered a brand new listening to into the matter, saying the decrease courtroom had violated the fitting of the sufferer’s household to attend a vital listening to within the case.
“This Courtroom has the facility and obligation to treatment these violations, as lengthy we will achieve this with out violating Mr. Syed’s proper to be free from double jeopardy,” the panel stated in its ruling.
“Accordingly, we vacate the circuit courtroom’s order vacating Mr. Syed’s convictions, which leads to the reinstatement of the unique convictions and sentence,” it stated.
The panel didn’t particularly order Syed again to jail, however allowed for a two-month delay within the “mandate” of its determination to permit the events “time to evaluate the way to proceed.”
Syed has maintained he was harmless and didn’t kill Hae Min Lee, who was 18 when she was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. The podcast “Serial,” produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, drew nationwide consideration to the case in 2014.
An lawyer for Syed stated he stays free and the newest determination was not about Syed’s innocence however extra about proceedings. The lawyer stated Syed’s staff will search a evaluation within the Supreme Courtroom of Maryland.
“The Appellate Courtroom of Maryland has reinstated Adnan’s convictions, not as a result of the Movement to Vacate was misguided, however as a result of Ms Lee’s brother didn’t seem in particular person on the vacatur listening to,” Erica Suter, Syed’s counsel, advised Reuters.
“There isn’t a foundation for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the standing of a convicted felon.”
Prosecutors filed a movement final September to vacate the conviction after conducting a yearlong investigation alongside a public defender representing Syed.
Baltimore Circuit Courtroom Decide Melissa Phinn subsequently ordered Syed to be launched from jail, the place he was serving a life sentence.
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