Subject of popular 'Serial' podcast can pursue appeal, court rules
The convicted murderer whose case is portrayed in the popular Serial podcast will be allowed to pursue an appeal based on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
In a Friday ruling, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals set a briefing schedule for Adnan Syed, now 33, who is serving a life term for strangling to death his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, when both were teenagers, reports Courthouse News.
His lawyer, Christina Gutierrez, had been disbarred by the time she died in 2004. Syed contends that she failed to pursue a plea bargain, as he requested. He also says a witness would have provided him with an alibit if allowed to testify.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Serial’ podcasts downplayed info supporting murder conviction, prosecutor says; DNA testing sought”
