The subject of the first season of “Serial” podcast has been granted a new trial.
A Baltimore judge on Thursday vacated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed and granted his request for a retrial, according to the Baltimore Sun.
{mosads}The retrial comes 16 years after he was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and then burying her body in Leakin Park in Baltimore, NBC News reported.
Syed had been serving a life sentence.
In his opinion, retired Judge Martin Welch wrote that Syed’s trial attorney “rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state’s expert regarding the reliability of cell tower location,” the Baltimore Sun reported.
At a post-conviction hearing several months ago, Syed’s attorneys argued that an alibi witness and questionable cellphone records were overlooked by his original trial attorney.
Syed’s story was the subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” which went through the events leading up to and after the murder of his Lee. The podcast raised questions about whether Syed received a fair trial.
Syed’s attorney, C. Justin Brown, tweeted the news of the retrial on Thursday.
“WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED! #FreeAdnan,” he wrote.
WE WON A NEW TRIAL FOR ADNAN SYED!!! #FreeAdnan
— Justin Brown (@CJBrownLaw) June 30, 2016
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