Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, says an appeal has been filed against the decision to grant a retrial to Adnan Syed, the convicted murderer and main subject featured in the popular podcast, “Serial”.

CNN reports, in the appeal on Monday, Frosh’s office urged Baltimore Judge, Martin Welch, to

“review, and reverse, the post-conviction court’s ruling that Syed’s trial attorney was constitutionally ineffective in her cross-examination of the state’s cellphone evidence.”

Syed was imprisoned for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999 and has been serving life in prison ever since. His murder conviction proved controversial after it was made the subject of the first season of the popular 2014 podcast. Much like Making A Murderer, through deep investigation into the case, the show creators outlined the alleged inconsistencies in his trial, raising multiple suspicions.

Back in June, Welch ruled Syed deserved a new trial due to his lawyer failing to call into question key cell phone location data, used by prosecutors to place Syed near the Baltimore park where Lee’s body was found.

In post-conviction proceedings, defense attorneys have even argued that much of the evidence found was unreliable. Judge Welch wrote that Syed’s original trial lawyer “fell below the standard of reasonable professional judgment” when she didn’t bring up the issues at his 2000 trial.

For 17 years now, Syed has long maintained his innocence. Though, Lee’s family still believe Syed killed their daughter, and that the renewed emphasis on the case has “re-opened wounds few can imagine.”

Serial has been downloaded over 130 million times since its initial launch in 2014. As mentioned, the thrilling podcast raised many a questions regarding Syed’s trial lawyer. The show sparked a major debate on social media over whether Syed’s conviction was sound.

Let us know your thoughts!

Main image courtesy Serial Podcast