Syed's Lawyer: We're Taking This All the Way

Adnan Syed's attorney plans to petition the Supreme Court
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2019 10:05 AM CDT
Syed's Lawyer: We're Taking This All the Way
In this Feb. 3, 2016 file photo, Adnan Syed enters Courthouse East in Baltimore prior to a hearing in Baltimore.   (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

Adnan Syed's lawyer took a hit Friday but vowed to keep on fighting. C. Justin Brown tweeted that he will petition the US Supreme Court to take up the murder case chronicled in the popular Serial podcast and HBO documentary series, the Baltimore Sun reports. This after the Maryland Court of Appeals rejected his appeal Friday to reconsider its earlier decision to deny Syed a new trial. "My heart goes out to my client, who I believe was wrongfully convicted. We will keep fighting for him," says Brown. "I hope someday we can fix our broken criminal justice system. Today is not that day." Brown argues that Syed was wrongfully convicted of strangling ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999 because Syed's previous lawyer failed to use an important alibi witness.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals agreed to a retrial but Maryland's highest court overturned that and reaffirmed its decision Friday, per Newsweek. The seven-judge panel found "that there is not a significant or substantial possibility" of a new verdict if the witness, Asia McClain, were called to trial. Now the HBO filmmakers say witness Jay Wilds, who claims he and Syed buried Lee's body, is offering yet another account of the crime. With all this, Syed sounds despondent: "Just spoke to #AdnanSyed—haven't heard him so down in 3.5 yrs," tweets Amy Berg, director of the HBO doc. "He wanted the new trial more than anyone." The Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 petitions annually and takes up roughly 2% of them. (Read about two big reveals in the HBO doc.)

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