Maryland Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction against Adnan Syed

The Maryland Supreme Court on Friday upheld a state appeal decision and reinstated Adnan Syed's murder conviction. Syed's case was featured on the podcast “Serial.” The state Supreme Court said the state violated victims' rights when it overturned Syed's conviction. File photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/ EPA-EFE

The Baltimore appeals court released Syed from prison in September 2022 and overturned his conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee because prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence.

The Maryland Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed Syed's conviction in March 2023, arguing that the Baltimore Court of Appeals had violated the rights of Young Lee, the murder victim's brother.

The state Supreme Court's ruling on Friday affirmed the reinstatement of Syed's conviction and remanded the case back to Baltimore District Court.

The state Supreme Court decision stated: “In seeking to right what they perceived as an injustice to Mr. Syed, the District Attorney and the District Court wronged Mr. Lee by failing to treat him with dignity, respect and sensitivity and, in particular, by violating Mr. Lee's rights as a representative of a crime victim to receive reasonable notice of the vacatur hearing, the right to attend the hearing in person, and the right to be heard on the merits of the vacatur motion.”

The case now returns to the point when Syed's conviction was overturned.

Syed remains at large while the case is remanded to Baltimore. He served a 20-year prison sentence before his release.

“We conclude that the appropriate course of action is to remand this case to the District Court for Baltimore City for further proceedings before another judge consistent with this opinion. Upon remand, the parties, Mr. Lee, and the District Court will begin where they were immediately after the District Attorney's filing of the motion to quash on September 14, 2022,” the state Supreme Court's decision said.

Lee's attorney, David Sanford, said in a statement Friday that the state Supreme Court's decision made clear that victims' rights included “being treated with dignity, respect and sensitivity.”

The new hearing will be led by prosecutor Ivan Bates, who said during the election campaign that he believed Syed's conviction was legally flawed and that he should be released from prison.

Another prosecutor will take over the case.

Bates told reporters Friday that his office needs time to fully understand the state Supreme Court's opinion.

Syed's case attracted international attention after being featured on the hit podcast Serial.