It was reported this weekend that a court in the US is allowing a prisoner to appeal a conviction for murdering his ex-girlfriend – after his case was investigated by popular podcast series Serial.
Student Adnan Syed was 17-years-old when he was accused of strangling Hae Min Lee to death in Maryland. He was convicted of her murder in 2000 and is currently serving a life sentence in Baltimore.
Syed has insisted that the lawyer who represented him during the murder trial ignored his requests to negotiate a plea deal.
He also claims a classmate who could have given him an alibi was not interviewed at the time.
Now Maryland's Court of Special Appeals has approved Syed’s push for a review of the case, after the radio programme questioned whether he was given a fair trial.
"It’s the first step in a pretty long process but we're extremely happy," his lawyer told the Baltimore Sun.
Serial became an online phenomenon after its debut in October 2014. A spin-off of the popular This American Life radio show, over the course of 12 episodes host Sarah Koenig provided an in-depth exploration of the case from a variety of different angles.
From its interviews with key people involved in the case to thoroughly revisiting evidence presented during the main trial, the podcast hooked millions of listeners. However it has also helped spark this latest appeal.
If you have not listened to Serial, you can find out more information and listen to all episodes on its website serialpodcast.org.
Episodes can also be downloaded on iTunes. A second season, exploring a different story, is also expected later this year.
Rabia Chaudry is a lawyer, National Security Fellow at the New America Foundation and a friend of Adnan Syed. She had initially contacted Sarah Koenig about the story, and she says "the response has been beyond my wildest dreams".
Rabia spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning about the appeal and reflected on the success of the podcast itself. She also discussed some of the controversy surrounding the podcast and how this real-life tragic murder transformed into a popular 'whodunnit' online.
You can listen back to the interview below:
