Adnan Syed, the man jailed for murder who was the subject of the first season of NPR’s Serial podcast, has been granted a major legal victory.
Advertisement
Adnan Syed’s motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings was granted Friday.
In the 2000 trial, prosecutors weighed heavily on mobile phone records that allegedly placed Syed at a park in Baltimore where Lee’s body was buried. For those who didn’t follow Serial host Sarah Koenig’s investigation, Syed was found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 2000.
After careful consideration of the parties’ pleadings, this Court in the exercise of its discretion, concludes that reopening the post-conviction proceedings to allow Petitioner to raise the issue of cell tower location and reliability and supplement the record with relevant materials would be in the interest of justice.
With new testimony and the ability to take a more realistic approach to the cell data that was the center of the prosecution’s case, Syed stands a chance of being able to have his name cleared and getting released from his life sentence.
A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge said Friday that Syed can introduce new evidence at a post-conviction hearing, including testimony from a possible alibi witness, and documents that his lawyer says calls into question the cell phone location data used by the prosecution at his trial.
One of Syed’s lawyers announced the news on Twitter. Syed’s hearing hasn’t yet been scheduled. Welch wrote that the court will also take up Syed’s former attorney’s “alleged failure to cross-examine” the state’s cellphone expert and “potential prosecutorial misconduct during trial”.
Advertisement
Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and friend of Syed who has campaigned in his support, tweeted that she has been crying in celebration at the news. Abraham Waranowitz testified that records gave accurate locations, but he has since backtracked on this claim.
