The 2014 podcast that captivated millions of listeners now gets its real life sequel–Adnan Syed from “Serial” has been granted a new trial after 16 years in prison. The judge in the case, Martin Welch, vacated the murder conviction on Thursday.

Adnan Syed, now 36, became a famous name when the podcast “Serial” aired two years ago. The podcast told the story of his conviction in the murder of his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Prosecutors claimed he strangled and buried Lee in a park in Baltimore. Listeners were divided over whether he was guilty or not, and the journalist Sarah Koenig set out to find out the truth.

The main evidence that led to Syed’s conviction in 2000 was information from cell towers that showed where he was (or rather where his phone was) at the time of the murder. However, many people have questioned the reliability of that information. Syed’s former attorney Christina Gutierrez, who passed away in 2004, failed to cross-examine the state’s cell tower expert.

She also failed to contact and question an important witness who claimed she had been with Adnan Syed in the school library at the time of Lee’s murder. Asia McClain, the witness, recently gave birth to a baby and told ABC that she was shocked but excited to hear the news. This was her reaction on Twitter:

Wow…I'm speechless. New Baby, New Trial

— Asia McClain Chapman (@AsiaRChapman) June 30, 2016

As a result of the podcast’s success–millions of listeners tuned in, easily breaking previous podcast subscription records–and interviews with McClain, the case received new attention. Syed’s new attorney Justin Brown tried to get a new trial in place because of the potential alibi McClain’s testimony could provide. Judge Welch denied the trial request, but vacated the sentence because of the cell tower issue.

Syed’s friend Rabia Chaudry was the first to bring his case to Koenig’s attention.

People keep asking, no one has spoken to him. He did not have phone privileges yesterday! We expect him to call us today.#AdnanSyed

— rabia chaudry (@rabiasquared) July 1, 2016

Brown was happy about the news and said he will look into the possibilities for bail. But as of now, the conviction is gone. He told Washington Post:

“Think of it as the conviction is erased. It’s gone. So if the state were to retry him, essentially, we would be starting from scratch. The whole trial could potentially start again.”

Check out this clip from a press conference with Brown:

@CJBrownLaw shares more information about #AdnanSyed being granted a new trial during press conference!https://t.co/zs6uejEBEQ

— Undisclosed Podcast (@Undisclosedpod) June 30, 2016

Lee’s family has not spoken publicly about the case, but released a statement in February during a new hearing of Syed, reports the Baltimore Sun.

“It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Have,” the statement read.

People are still divided over Syed’s guilt in the killing of Lee. But the question remains—if he didn’t do it, then who did?

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Adnan Syed of “Serial” Fame Granted Another Trial appeared first on Law Street.

Major spoiler alert: this post is all about the Serial podcast finale. If you have not yet listened to Serial, go download it now, find a nice quiet place, and come back in approximately 12 hours.

All good to go?

Alright, so now that you’ve caught up on Serial, you know what happened in the finale that aired yesterday. It was pretty apparent that some people were upset with the way that the national phenomenon ended. I understand why–there wasn’t really an ending. Not in a classic sense, at least. Not in a way that we’ve been conditioned to believe there needs to be. We still don’t know who killed Hae Min Lee. We still don’t know whether or not Adnan Syed is guilty. We still don’t know that much at all.

America’s love affair with crime procedurals has a long history. Turn on the TV right now and you have a veritable slew from which to choose. Want to see a case go through the justice system from beginning to end? Check out “Law and Order.” Want to see unique cases regarding the Navy and the Marine Corps? Well, there’s “NCIS.” Are a genius forensic anthropologist and her hunky FBI partner more up your ally? I’d recommend “Bones.”

What do all of these shows have in common? At the end, with very exceptions, the bad guy gets caught. There may be conflicting evidence or different theories along the journey, but at the end of the episode the person who committed the crime ends up paying the price.

That’s fun when it comes to TV shows, but it is directly contrary to how things work in real life. Serial proves that.

Sarah Koenig went through the entire case of Adnan Syed piece by meticulous piece, and she still doesn’t have the answer. She put in way more time than the detectives on the case–not that I’m blaming them for that, it’s just the nature of two different professions. She put in way more time than the scientists and cops on my favorite procedurals who find one fingerprint and have their “Aha” moments. She literally took this thing apart with a fine-toothed comb, and she still wasn’t completely certain about what had happened to Hae on that fateful day in 1999.

Some people in the Twitterverse were upset not that there was no answer to who murdered Hae, but rather that the podcast was ending when it did. They were upset that Koenig didn’t continue digging. Again, I’m not, because that’s life. Answers are not guaranteed, and not everyone has the luxury of taking forever to find them. There are plenty of people who will never get their answers–parents who have lost their children, people who have lost their significant others, and innocent prisoners who were convicted for reasons they may never understand.

Those people may never get their answers. So why should we, fans of this podcast, get ours?

I would love to know who killed Hae Min Lee. I, like everyone else who got a little obsessed with this podcast, have my theories. But I think at the end of the day, what Koenig and her team accomplished wasn’t just a masterfully told story, but a living embodiment of the questions that our justice system has to deal with every single day. It’s easy to forget that, when you can just turn on the TV and see Agent Gibbs or Sergeant Benson or Agent Booth get the bad guy. Let Serial serve as a reminder that it’s almost never that simple.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Serial’s Ending Was Perfect: Here’s Why appeared first on Law Street.