Serial podcast's Adnan Syed vows to fight after hopes of murder retrial dashed by narrow judge vote
A convicted murderer whose claims of innocence gained worldwide attention in the first Serial podcast has seen judges overturn an earlier decision that gave him a retrial.
Adnan Syed, who was convicted of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, had been granted a retrial in 2016 - two years after the 12-episode focus on his case became a download hit.
But his hopes of new court proceedings were halted on Friday as the highest court in the state of Maryland overruled the 2016 decision by a 4-3 vote and upheld a state appeal, which had previously been rejected.
Syed's lawyer Justin Brown said his client remained defiant in the face of the Court of Appeal ruling.
Mr Brown said the case could go to a national level.
"We are devastated by the Court of Appeals’ decision but we will not give up on Adnan Syed," he said in a statement issued on his website.
"Unfortunately we live in a binary criminal justice system in which you either win or you lose. Today we lost by a 4-3 vote.
"Our criminal justice system is desperately in need of reform. The obstacles to getting a new trial are simply too great."
Syed's challenge for a retrial centred on his claim that fellow student Asia McClain, whose evidence was not heard in his trial, could provide him with an alibi.
He alleges her testimony could support his claim he was in a campus library when his ex-girlfriend was murdered.
Appeal judges accepted Syed's original legal representation was "deficient" but said the absence of Ms McClain did not prejudice his trial as they overruled the retrial decision on Friday.
Mr Brown criticised the judgment, saying: "There was a credible alibi witness who was with Adnan at the precise time of the murder and now the Court of Appeals has said that witness would not have affected the outcome of the proceeding.
"We think just the opposite is true. From the perspective of the defendant, there is no stronger evidence than an alibi witness."