Serial Inspires New Petition For Adnan Syed

Though she was a minor figure in the podcast itself, Rabia Chaudry has been instrumental in bringing Serial to fruition. It was Chaudry, whose brother was one of Adnan Syed's closest friends, who alerted Sarah Koenig to Syed's story and the unanswered questions surrounding Hae Min Lee's murder. Now that the podcast has ended, she's taking matters into her own hands to ensure that Syed gets the justice she feels he deserves.

Chaudry has launched a petition on Change.org titled "A Fair Trial for Adnan," which demands a new trial based on evidence brought to light on Serial.

"We, the signers of this petition, urge the State of Maryland, its judiciary and the officers of its Courts to undertake all efforts to ensure the reopening of a post-conviction proceeding for Adnan Syed and urge the Courts to grant him a new and fair trial," the petition states.

"We believe that new information recently revealed in popular media upends previous court rulings that Mr. Syed is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the premeditated murder of Hae Min Lee. This new information necessitates a reopening, not only as a matter of law, but also in keeping with Maryland’s proud tradition of judicial fairness and the best interests of justice in our free and democratic society.

"In light of this new information, we impel Maryland to restore Adnan’s constitutional right to due process and allow a fully informed court to rule on Adnan’s fate and the rest of his life, having lost nearly sixteen years of it behind bars already."

The petition currently has over 1,200 signatures. Syed has already been granted an appeal for this month. That appeals case was underway before Serial aired and Chaudry sent out her petition. Will the case's notoriety have an impact on the outcome? Or, are Chaudry and other Syed supporters simply refusing to let Jay Wilds have the last word?