Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction was chronicled in the hit podcast, Serial, has been denied a new trial by Maryland’s highest court.
The Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court in a 4-3 opinion stating that Adnan’s counsel failed to investigate alibi witness and that the deficiency did not prejudice the case.
The judgement by the Court of Special Appeals’ was also reversed by the court that granted Adnan Syed a new trial.
Syed’s attorney, Justin Brown said that they were “devastated” by the decision “but we will not give up on Adnan Syed.”
“Our criminal justice system is desperately in need of reform. The obstacles to getting a new trial are simply too great,” Brown said. “There was a credible alibi witness who was with Adnan at the precise time of the murder and now the Court of Appeals has said that witness would not have affected the outcome of the proceeding. We think just the opposite is true. From the perspective of the defendant, there is no stronger evidence than an alibi witness.”
Adnan Syed has been serving a life sentence after having been convicted in 2000 for strangling 17 year old Hae Min Lee and burying her body in Baltimore park. The popular Serial podcast brought Syed’s case to millions of listeners in 2014. The show revealed little-known evidence and attracted millions of listeners, setting new records for podcast-streaming and downloading.
