WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Maryland man’s bid for a new trial based on information uncovered by the hit podcast “Serial.”
The justices did not comment in leaving in place a 4-3 ruling by Maryland’s highest court that denied a new trial to Adnan Syed, who was convicted of strangling a high school classmate he had once dated.
Syed is serving a life sentence after he was convicted in 2000 of killing 17-year-old Hae Min Lee and burying her body in a Baltimore park. Prosecutors said during his trial that Syed killed her after she broke off their relationship.
Syed’s lawyers had argued that his trial lawyer’s failure to investigate an alibi witness violated his right to competent legal representation.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court but by no means is this the end of Adnan Syed,” defense attorney C. Justin Brown told The Associated Press. “There are other legal options and we are exploring each and every one of them.”
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh in a statement said the evidence against Syed “was overwhelming.”
“We remain confident in the verdict that was delivered by the jury and are pleased that justice for Hae Min Lee has been done,” he said.
Millions of people learned about Syed when the hit podcast “Serial” dedicated its entire first season to the case in 2014. The show shattered podcast-streaming and downloading records, shining a spotlight that led to renewed court proceedings.
Two Maryland courts found that Syed deserved a new trial. His lawyer during his first trial, Cristina Gutierrez, failed to contact a woman who said she saw Syed at a library at the time prosecutors say he strangled his ex-girlfriend in 1999. Gutierrez has since died.
