Supreme Court declines to hear Serial subject Adnan Syed's appeal for a new trial

True crime podcast subject Adnan Syed's appeal to the Supreme Court for a new trial has just been rejected.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Syed's appeal, leaving in place a ruling from the Maryland Court of Appeals denying him a new trial, The Associated Press reports. Convicted to life in prison in 2000 for the murder of ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, Syed has maintained his innocence, as covered on the true crime sensation Serial in 2014.

In 2016, a Maryland court ordered a new trial, a decision that was upheld by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, NPR reports. Syed's lawyer during his trial didn't contact a witness who claims she saw him at the library when prosecutors say he murdered Lee, and so his lawyers argued his right to competent legal representation was violated, AP notes. But the decision that Syed therefore deserves a new trial was reversed in 2018 by Maryland's highest court, and that ruling now remains in place.

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Syed's attorney on Monday said he was "extremely disappointed" by this outcome while adding that "we won't give up."