Before "The Jinx" aired and blurred the line between entertainment and journalism, there was "Serial." The NPR podcast took the world by storm last year and gave new hope to Adnan Syed, who has been in prison since 2000 on a life sentence plus 30 years for the murder of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend.
On Monday, the process in Syed's potential road back to freedom continued as his lawyers filed a brief and requested a new trial with Maryland's Court of Special Appeals. According to People, the court will hear arguments on the case.
This is the closest Syed has been to being granted a new trial. The state of Maryland has denied an appeal from his lawyers twice before.
Justin Brown and Kasha Lesse, Syed's lawyers, argue that at the time of the first trial, his then-lawyer Christina Gutierrez (who has since died), did not request a plea deal even though Syed asked her to. She kept Syed in the dark regarding it, never explaining to him that she had no plans to reach a plea agreement.
"The errors committed by trial counsel were of such a fundamental nature that Syed must be given a new trial," Syed's new lawyers argued in the brief, according to People.
They also argue that the prosecutors' key witness testimony was "riddled with inconsistencies." The report from People did not mention whose testimony that is, but Jay Wilds has been referred to as the "key witness" of the case in multiple reports and many times on "Serial."
Anoher red flag regarding Gutierrez that the new lawyers will likely bring up in the appeal argument is her lack of interest in talking to Asia McClain. McClain claims that she was with Syed at the time the state argues he was killing Lee. She reached out to Guitierrez but the lawyer was never interested in talking to her, according to an interview that was featured on "Serial" with host Sarah Koenig.
In-person, oral arguments on the case will not being until June, according to People.
