"Serial" ruling for new trial appealed, Maryland AG says
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh says his office is appealing a judge's order granting a new trial to a man convicted of murder in a case that was featured in the popular "Serial" podcast.
Frosh said in a telephone interview that his office filed the notice of appeal Monday. The attorney general's office has asked that any new trial for Adnan Syed be halted during the appeals process.
Syed was convicted of killing his former high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In June, retired Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch ruled Syed deserved a new trial, because his lawyer didn't call into question key cell phone location data used by prosecutors to place Syed near the Baltimore park where Lee's body was later found buried and corroborate the story of the man who accused him, former classmate Jay Wilds.
Defense attorneys in post-conviction proceedings have argued much of that evidence was unreliable. In his opinion, Welch wrote that Syed's original trial lawyer "fell below the standard of reasonable professional judgment" when she didn't raise the issue at his 2000 trial.
Syed has long maintained his innocence. Lee's family has said they believe Syed killed their daughter and said the renewed emphasis on the case has "re-opened wounds few can imagine."
The podcast captivated millions of listeners around the world and stoked intense debate on social media over whether Syed's conviction was sound.