Adnan Syed, standing with his mother Shamim Rahman, talks with reporters outside Maryland’s Supreme Court in Annapolis, Md., on Oct. 5, 2023.
Susan Walsh/AP
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Susan Walsh/AP
Less than two years after Adnan Syed was released from prison, Maryland’s top court has ordered a redo on the very hearing that freed him.
On Friday, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s decision from 2023 to reinstate Syed’s conviction. That ruling was based on the argument that the murder victim’s family did not receive adequate notice about the hearing that led to Syed’s release.
Now, the case will head to a new lower court judge, who will determine the fate of Syed’s conviction. The Maryland Supreme Court said Syed can remain free in the meantime.
The 43-year-old spent 23 years in prison for the murder of his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. His case drew national attention after being the main focus of the Serial podcast’s first season. The episodes raised doubts about some of the case’s evidence and led to calls for a new trial. Syed was originally facing life in prison until a Baltimore judge vacated his conviction in 2022.
Syed went on to work for Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. But his case is far from settled. Here’s what to know.
A recap of Syed’s criminal case
In 1999, Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee’s body was discovered in a city park, a few weeks after she had gone missing. Her autopsy determined that she had been strangled to death.
Syed, who had…