The family of Hae Min Lee says they are “very pleased” that the Maryland appellate court reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, reports CNN.
Syed’s case gained national attention from the popular podcast Serial.
The lower court ruled the right of the victim’s brother, Young Lee, to attend the court hearing overturning Syed’s conviction, was violated.
“The appeal was not about Adnan’s innocence but about notice and mootness,” said Erica J. Suter, Syed’s attorney and the director of the Innocence Project Clinic to CBS News. “The Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated Adnan’s convictions, not because the Motion to Vacate was erroneous, but because Ms. Lee’s brother did not appear in person at the vacatur hearing.”
The appellate court ruling will not take effect until 60 days. Syed’s attornies say they plan to appeal.
RELATED: Murder conviction of Serial’s Adnan Syed overturned
Baltimore’s prosecutor moved to overturn the conviction after they found unreliable evidence had been used in the trial and new alternative suspects surfaced.
“We think it really represents a step toward transparency and the rule of law,” said Lee family attorney Steve Kelly said on CNN This Morning. “You can’t have a trial by podcast or a trial by publicity.”
Syed was Lee’s former high school boyfriend. He served 23 years in prison before being set free.
“There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon, said Syed’s attorney Erica Suter. “For the time being, Adnan remains a free man. We remain optimistic that justice will be done.”
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