Adnan Syed, known to many as a subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” has been granted a new trial 18 years after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend and sentenced to a life in prison.
Syed received the initial sentence in 2000 for the murder of his Woodlawn High School classmate Hae Min Lee, whose body was found in nearby Leakin Park. A Baltimore Circuit Court vacated that conviction in 2016, citing the “ineffective assistance” of Syed’s former attorney. On Thursday, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld the ruling granting him a new trial.
“Serial” devoted its first season to the crime and the conviction, as host Sarah Koenig and her producers interviewed a number of Syed’s friends and family members, sparking a national debate over whether he was innocent or guilty.