Major victory for Syed’s bid to overturn his conviction.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Adnan Syed, the convicted murderer who served as the focal point of the popular podcast “Serial,” has formally requested a new trial during which he wishes to present a new alibi witness who has never before testified.
Syed, who is serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, lodged his request with the Maryland Court of Special Appeals which remanded his case on May 18, according to the Associated Press. Now 34, he has been incarcerated since 2000.
The witness, Asia McClain, states in an affidavit that she was in a library with Syed when Lee was killed.
Further muddying the waters, McClain also filed an affidavit in January stating original case prosecutor Kevin Ulrick coerced her into withholding from the trial.
“I think that it shows that the court is interested in the issues that we raised,” C. Justin Brown, Syed’s attorney, told the Washington Post earlier this year.
Considering an appeal was denied in Baltimore City Court in 2003, and given the rarity of rulings overturning decisions on cases such as Syed’s, it’s arguable that Serial had a palpable hand in influencing the court’s decision to reexamine the appeal.
“This is another big step in the right direction, and it brings us closer to our ultimate goal of getting a new trial for Adnan Syed,” Brown reiterated last week.
McClain’s attorney, Gary Proctor, told AP “if subpoenaed by either party, Ms. McClain, as she’s always wanted to do, will fulfill her obligation to testify truthfully to any question asked of her.”