A Maryland court has reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, an exonerated man who spent over 20 years in prison.
On Tuesday, the Appellate Court of Maryland restored Syed’s murder conviction, though he has not yet been taken back into custody. The reinstatement was not issued because the court believed Syed was guilty of the crime. Instead, in a 2-1 ruling, the court determined that the victim’s family was not given adequate notice to attend a critical hearing that led to his release last year.
In 1999, Syed was accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee to death. Initially, there was a mistrial in the case. However, when it was retried, Syed was found guilty on February 25th, 2000, of first-degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery. In October 2022, he walked free after new DNA evidence emerged in the case. Several witnesses also changed their stories.
Per Maryland law, victims and their families are entitled to know about and attend such hearings involving vacating sentences. In this case, Lee’s brother, Young Lee, claimed he was not given proper notice to participate in the vacatur hearing in person, thus violating his rights. However, he was able to watch the September hearing via Zoom.
David Sanford, who is representing the Lee family, said the family is satisfied with the ruling.
“We are equally pleased that the Appellate Court is directing the lower court to conduct a transparent hearing where the evidence will be presented in open court and the court’s decision will be based on evidence for the world to see,” Sanford told CNN.
Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter and director of the Innocence Project Clinic, maintained that Syed is innocent, pointing out that the failed notice led to the reinstatement, not him actually committing the killing.
“We agree with the dissenting judge that the appeal is moot and that Mr. Lee’s attendance over Zoom was sufficient,” Suter said in a statement. “There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon. For the time being, Adnan remains a free man.”
Suter is hopeful that Syed will remain a free man.
“We remain optimistic that justice will be done,” Suter continued. “We intend to seek review in Maryland’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Maryland, and will continue to fight until Adnan’s convictions are fully vacated.”
