Syed, whose story was told on the hit podcast Serial, had already had his conviction overturned in September.
The murder conviction of Adnan Syed, whose story became internationally known after being presented on the hit podcast Serial, has been reinstated by a Maryland appeals court panel.
The twist came after a judge overturned Syed’s conviction in September in the order from Baltimore prosecutors, on the grounds that previous prosecutors had failed to provide evidence that could have affected the outcome of their case.
Syed had been convicted in 2000 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee a year earlier. He spent more than two decades fighting the verdict.
On Tuesday, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court had violated state law by failing to give Lee’s family adequate notice of a hearing to set aside the conviction.
The court ruled that giving Lee’s brother, Young Lee, only one business day before the hearing was “insufficient time to reasonably allow Mr. Lee, who lived in California, to attend” in person. Ultimately, he had to watch remotely.
The court said it was bound to remedy the lower court’s violations “so long as we can do so without violating Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy.”
“We are able to do that and accordingly vacate the circuit court order that vacated Mr. Syed’s convictions, resulting in reinstatement of the original convictions and sentences,” the ruling reads. He added that a new hearing will be held to overturn Syed’s conviction.
Asking the courts to vacate Syed’s conviction last year, Baltimore prosecutors saying they were not asserting that the defendant was innocent. Instead, they stated that they had no confidence “in the integrity of the sentence” and recommended that he be released on parole or on bail.
Prosecutors cited “undisclosed and newly developed information on two alternate suspects, as well as data from unreliable cell phone towers” as reasons to vacate the conviction.
Those “alternative suspects” were people known at the time of the original investigation and were not properly ruled out or disclosed to the defense, prosecutors explained.
The motion effectively put Syed on a new trial status, meaning his conviction would be vacated, but the case would remain active.
“Whether the state ultimately proceeds with a trial in this matter or dismisses the charges will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation,” the Maryland state attorney’s office said at the time.
Syed, who was 17 at the time of the murder, has maintained his innocence for decades.
His story caught the attention of millions in 2014 when the first season of the Serial podcast focused on the case and raised questions about some of the evidence, including data from cell phone towers.
Syed will not be detained again after the latest ruling, The Associated Press news agency reported.
