The case of Adnan Syed, which inspired the hit podcast Serial, took another turn on Tuesday when a Maryland appeals court denied a request to reconsider the reinstitution of his conviction and life sentence for murder.
The case involves the 1999 murder of Syed’s high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, who was 18 when she was found strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. Syed was 17 at the time.
The case gained worldwide attention in 2014, when its retelling in Serial, a podcast made by the radio producer Sarah Koenig, raised doubts about evidence used.
Last September, a Baltimore judge overturned Syed’s murder conviction, ruling that the state violated its legal obligation to share exculpatory evidence with the defense.
Prosecutors also revealed that they had unearthed new evidence pointing to two other suspects. The national spotlight once again shone on Syed, who had spent more than 20 years behind bars.
In March, however, a Maryland court reinstated Syed’s conviction and life sentence.
The decision came after Young Lee, Hae Min Lee’s brother, filed an appeal, arguing that prosecutors violated state law that required them to give victims or their representatives sufficient notice of hearings so they could attend in person. Lee argued that the state gave him just one business day’s notice before overturning Syed’s conviction.
In its ruling, the Maryland appeals court said it had “the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Mr Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy”.
Syed remains free. But in April his lawyers asked the court to reconsider its decision, arguing that appeals court judges broke from court precedent by failing to require Lee’s family to prove that the outcome of the September hearing would have been different had they received an earlier notice or attended in person.
On Tuesday, the chief judge of the appellate court, E Gregory Wells, signed a brief order denying that request. Syed’s motion for reconsideration, the order read, was “denied because it is based on an argument not previously raised”.
A lawyer for Syed, Erica Suter, said the case would continue.
“Appellate courts routinely assess whether an error impacted the underlying proceedings,” Suter told the Associated Press.
“We are dismayed that the appellate court of Maryland opted not to do so here. We will be seeking review in the supreme court of Maryland.”
