Maryland’s Supreme Court reinstated Adnan Syed’s murder conviction Friday, ruling the 2022 court hearing that freed the accused killer violated the rights of his alleged victim’s family.

The 4-3 ruling came nearly a year after the court heard arguments in October in the case that gained notoriety from the hit 2014 true-crime podcast “Serial.” 

Syed was convicted in 2000 of killing high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee after she was found strangled to death in an unmarked grave, and he was initially sentenced to life in prison, plus 30 years.

In September 2022, a Baltimore court overturned Syed’s conviction after city prosecutors found flaws in their evidence after Syed had served 22 years behind bars.

ADNAN SYED ASKS MARYLAND COURT TO RECONSIDER MURDER CONVICTION RULING

The panel of seven judges wrote in its ruling that Lee’s family had a right to participate in the 2022 hearing, saying that the victim’s brother Young Lee, was not given reasonable notice and, therefore, not treated with “dignity, respect and sensitivity.”

“In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee,” the justices wrote in their decision. 

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The panel said Syed, who was 17 when he was arrested and is now 43, can remain free as the case heads to a new lower court judge to determine again whether his conviction can be tossed out. 

The Lee family must be given notice of the new hearing “sufficient to provide Mr. Lee with a reasonable opportunity to attend such a hearing in person” and speak out if he chooses.

FORMER BALTIMORE PROSECUTOR ATTENDS BARBECUE HELD IN HER HONOR WHILE ON HOME DETENTION

Adnan Syed was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee when he was 17 years old. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Yusuf Syed)

David Sanford, an attorney who represents Lee’s family, told The Associated Press the higher court’s ruling “acknowledges what Hae Min Lee’s family has argued: Crime victims have a right to be heard in court.”

But Syed’s lawyer, Erica Suter, argued that the state did meet its obligation and invited Young Lee to participate in the hearing via video conference.

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The ruling is the latest twist in Syed’s long legal battle. In 2019, a court ruled 4-3 to deny the accused killer another trial. A lower court had ordered a retrial in 2015 on the grounds Syed’s attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, didn’t contact an alibi witness and therefore did not provide effective counsel, according to the AP.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the court’s decision.

ADNAN SYED CHARGES DROPPED AS BALTIMORE PROSECUTORS ABANDON CASE AGAINST ‘SERIAL’ PODCAST SUBJECT

A tribute to Hae Min Lee, Class of 1999, in a Woodlawn High School yearbook. Lee was abducted and killed in 1999, and classmate Adnan Syed was convicted of her murder in 2000.  (Getty Images)

Prosecutors chose to vacate Syed’s sentence in 2022 after reviewing evidence in his case under a Maryland law that targeted “juvenile lifers” because he was under 18 when Hae Min Lee’s body was found.

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They said they used “advanced DNA” testing to determine that Syed was not responsible for Hae’s murder and pointed to other potential suspects, including one who had allegedly threatened Hae and another linked to an address where her car was later discovered. 

“The state no longer has confidence in the integrity of the conviction,” prosecutors said at the time. 

Syed has maintained his innocence, often expressing concern for the victim’s family, according to the AP.

The long opening weekend of the 2024 college football season comes to a close from the Sunshine State on Labor Day as No. 10 Florida State returns home needing a win against Boston College hoping to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole on Monday night.

The Seminoles return stateside after coming out the wrong end of a three-point decision against unranked Georgia Tech in the Week 0 opener in Dublin, and although a loss in the era of an expanded playoff doesn’t doom their postseason hopes, it doesn’t help them, either.

Florida State will almost certainly fall from that No. 10 ranking because of that loss, regardless of what happens against the Eagles, the first of seven conference games the team has to recover its position as the ostensible favorite to win the ACC championship.

Boston College will be a challenge, however, thanks to the play of quarterback Thomas Castellanos, a dual-threat menace now playing under the tutelage of NFL veteran and new Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien, and who led this team in a narrow, 2-point loss to the Seminoles at home a year ago.

What can we expect in this matchup? Here’s what to watch out for as Florida State hosts Boston College in the last of the Week 1 games on Monday night.

How to watch

When: Mon., Sept. 2
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: ESPN network

Florida State vs. Boston College game odds

Lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Florida State: -16.5 (-105)
Boston College: +16.5 (-115)

FSU to win: -720
BC to win: +500

Over 51.5 points (-105)
Under 51.5 points (-115)

FPI picks: FSU 82.4% | BC 17.6%

What to watch for

1. BC’s quarterback. Castellanos threw for 305 yards and ran for 95 more against FSU’s superb defense a year ago and scored 2 total touchdowns. One key area for the Seminoles to make an adjustment is in how they contain a mobile quarterback after struggling against Haynes King in the Week 0 game.

2. Ground and pound. DJ Uiagalelei impressed in first- and fourth-quarter drives last week, but didn’t test the deeper passing lanes as much as expected, and the offense stagnated as a result.

BC’s back seven will give him some chances, but in the meantime expect the Noles to use their experienced line and talented backs to go after an Eagles run-stop that was 13th in the ACC a year ago but returns eight starters.

3. It’s not just the QB. All eyes are on Castellanos to drive the Eagles offense, but the signal caller is backed up by three returning linemen up front, tailback Kye Robichaux, transfer back and ex-Nole Treshaun Ward, and receiver Lewis Bond.

All are deceptively agile in space, can get yards after contact, and spread the Seminoles’ coverage in a way that could give the QB more room to operate, especially in third-and-short situations, where his mobility can help extend drives and keep this defense on the field.

Florida State vs. Boston College prediction

Granted, the Florida State defensive front isn’t as dominant as it was last season, but it’s still too good to look the way it did in the opener.

It has the athletes and the discipline to contain not just the Eagles’ shifty quarterback, but the other skill players BC can bounce to the outside and limit them to moderate gains and to the interior as much as possible.

Castellanos will frustrate the Seminoles’ front alignment plenty early on, and he’ll probably run for a touchdown, but Florida State still has the personnel to contain him as time wears on, plus the ground game to move the chains and open things for Uiagalelei to work downfield more.

College Football HQ picks …

More … Florida State vs. BC score prediction by expert football model

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