Families of ‘serial’ victims seek new court hearing

A lawyer has called for a new hearing on a motion leading to the release of Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction, documented on the popular podcast Serial, has been overturned.

Steve Kelly, attorney for the family of the victim, Hae Min Lee, filed the plea in legal briefs in the Maryland 2nd Supreme Court Special Appeals Court.

The new hearing requires prosecutors to present any evidence in support of the motion and grants Haimin Lee’s brother, Young Lee, the right to challenge the evidence and present his own.

Mr. Lee “was not given notice and opportunity for meaningful participation” and was excluded from legal proceedings “apparently the outcome of which is determined by the state’s attorney and the circuit court,” the filing said.

Mr Lee’s family said their appeal was not an attempt to affect Mr Syed’s release from prison.

Mr Kelly said: “Mr Lee certainly does not want to see a wrongly convicted person imprisoned, but it would be unfair to anyone for the court to make such a crucial decision without the facts.”

Prosecutors dropped Syed’s conviction in September after a year-long investigation.

A judge in Baltimore ordered a new trial and released Mr Syed from prison, but gave prosecutors 30 days to decide whether to drop the charges or proceed with a new trial.

The judge ruled that the state breached its legal obligation to share evidence that could bolster Mr Syed’s defense.

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced at a news conference on October 11 that her office dismissed all charges against Mr Syed.

Prosecutors have previously said a reopening of the case revealed evidence about the possible involvement of two other suspects. The state’s attorney’s office said the two suspects may have been involved individually or together.

Ms Mosby’s office also cited new results from a DNA test using more modern technology than when the evidence in the case was first tested.

Mr Syed spent more than 20 years in prison for strangling Ms Li, then 18, to death. Her body was found weeks later, buried in a Baltimore park in 1999.

Mr Syed has always maintained his innocence. His case captured the attention of millions in 2014, when Serial’s first season focused on Ms. Lee’s killing and raised questions about some of the evidence prosecutors were using.

The program broke podcast streaming and download records.