Adnan Syed's case has reached its final verdict.
Syed's murder conviction will be upheld as the Supreme Court has decided not to grant him a new trial. Syed's case made its way to the country's highest court after multiple unsuccessful appeals. His case generated a lot of attention after being featured on the popular podcast Serial. The new information revealed through the podcast forced the state of Maryland to reopen Syed's case.
Serial questioned the effort put into Syed's initial trial. It highlighted that Syed's first lawyer did not question a witness who would have solidified his alibi and proven he was innocent. The witness, Asia McClain, confirmed she saw Syed in the school library at the time the crime is said to have taken place. But the state was able to argue that a different lawyer wouldn't have changed the outcome of Syed's trial. This led to him appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, which ultimately sided with Maryland.
In 2000, Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. The court believes Syed strangled Lee then disposed of her body in a Baltimore park. Witness Jay Wilds claims that Adnan showed him Lee's dead body in the parking lot of a Best Buy and that he helped him bury the victim at the park. While McClain's testimony would have shifted the chain of events, the Supreme Court is convinced that this wouldn't discredit Wilds' statement or the established motive.
