Serial podcast subject Adnan Syed gets new trial, murder conviction vacated
A Baltimore Circuit Court Judge has agreed with the attorneys for Serial podcast subject Adnan Syed, and earlier today he vacated Adnan’s 1999 murder conviction and granted him a new trial!
According to the court order, Judge Martin P. Welch granted the defense’s motion based on Adnan’s original defense attorney not cross-examining “the State’s cell tower expert about the reliability of cell tower location evidence.” In the trial, the prosecution used the cell tower information to place Adnan near where the body of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, was found.
Here is the full text from the judge’s ruling:
ORDER
Upon consideration of Petitioner’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief; the Maryland Court of Special Appeals May 18, 2015 Remand Order; the evidence and arguments presented at the February 2016 post-conviction hearing; and the reasons set forth in the Memorandum Opinion 11 for the above-captioned case, it is this 30th day of June, 2016,ORDERED that the record, which has been supplemented with Asia McClain’s January 13; 2015 affidavit and her subsequent testimony, shall be RE-TRANSMITTED to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals for further proceedings; and it is further
ORDERED that the Petition for Post-Conviction Relief as to trial counsel’s alleged ineffective assistance for the failure to contact a potential alibi witness is hereby DENIED; and it is further
ORDERED that the Petition for Post-Conviction Relief as to alleged prosecutorial misconduct of withholding potentially exculpatory evidence related to the reliability of cell tower location evidence is hereby DENIED; and it is further
ORDERED that the Petition for Post-Conviction Relief as to trial counsel’s alleged ineffective assistance for the failure to cross-examine the State’s cell tower expert about the reliability of cell tower location evidence is hereby GRANTED; and it is further
ORDERED that Petitioner’s convictions in the above-captioned case with case nos. 199103042-046 are VACATED; and it is finally
ORDERED that Petitioner’s request for a new trial is hereby GRANTED.
Judge Martin P. Welch
Adnan Syed’s attorney Justin Brown was the first to break the news on Twitter:
WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED!!! #FreeAdnan
— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016
Mr. Brown said they will be holding a press conference today at 5:15PM EST.
