The case of Adnan Syed – the man at the centre of the hugely successful Serial podcast – is to come before the courts again in January.
Syed’s case – which has seen Syed incarcerated for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee – will go before the Maryland appeals court to ask for post-conviction relief. The hearing is, according to his lawyer, C. Justin Brown, Syed’s “last best chance” of freedom.
Syed has long protested his innocence, saying he had nothing to do with the death of Hae-Min Lee in 1999. Syed has served 14 years in Maryland prison since the original trial in 2000, when he was convicted of first degree murder, kidnapping and robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The prosecution has maintained Syed killed Min Lee in a jealous rage, before dumping the body in a Baltimore park.
Brown told the Associated Press his client’s appeal is not based on Syed’s guilt or innocence, but on if his initial defence attorney, the late Cristina Gutierrez, provided an effective defence. Gutierrez - who died in 2004 - failed to interview an alibi witness who said she was with Syed at the school library at the time when the prosecution argued Syed was murdering Min Lee. Brown's appeal argues Gutierrez knew about this witness but did not follow it up.
“It’s been a lengthy process,” Brown said. “There are three parts to the legal process: a trial, then an appeal, then you have post-conviction relief. This is the last step.”
The appeal due before the court in January is not linked to the podcast. It is the final stage of an appeals process that has been underway for several years. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals requested that the state review the case in September, before Serial aired.
Syed during his time at Woodlawn High School Image: Serial Podcast
The podcast has attracted a cult following, as well as breaking new ground for journalism and radio production, as its format has seen listeners tune in week by week to an unfolding investigation, whose result in unknown to listener or producer, and which aims to get to the truth behind Syed’s case.
Sarah Koening, Serial producer, has said she noticed several inconsistencies with the State’s prosecution and decided to investigate further. Her questions about the original conviction – although she has never professed to believe Syed is definitely not guilty – were rooted in the lack of eye witnesses and holes in the original defence case.
The podcast, produced by This American Life (TAL) journalist Sarah Koenig, and with the backing of TAL, one of the world’s most popular podcasts, is now downloaded approximately 1.5 million times each week, with nine episodes produced so far in the series. The show’s in-depth nature, and narrative form, has led to a dedicated following, and lead to countless debates over Syed’s guilt or innocence.
