A Maryland judge today granted a retrial to Adnan Syed, whose conviction for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend was the subject of the first season of the popular podcast “Serial.”
Syed’s lawyer C. Justin Brown announced the news Thursday afternoon via Twitter, and confirmed to reporters later that the motion for a new trial was granted by Judge Martin Welch.
WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED!!! #FreeAdnan
— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016
We will hold a press conference at our office at 5:15 pm today. 231 E. Baltimore St. suite 1102.
— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016
From the New York Times:
The decision to grant Mr. Syed, 35, a retrial is a major victory for an inmate who has long maintained his innocence and has exhausted all other avenues of appeal. He was convicted of the murder of Hae Min Lee in 2000 and has been serving a life sentence in prison.
The announcement by Mr. Brown follows three days of post-conviction hearings in February during which Mr. Syed and his legal team were able to present new evidence, including the testimony of a new alibi witness, and argue that his original defense counsel had been grossly negligent.
