The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez for the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz, overturning a federal appeals court decision that had vacated the verdict. The justices ruled 6-3, with the three liberal justices dissenting, that the Second Circuit overstepped its authority under a 1996 federal law limiting federal court oversight of state criminal trials.
Court Ruling and Dissent
In an unsigned opinion, the justices wrote: “The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief.” The decision grants an appeal from New York prosecutors, who had argued the appeals court reversed the conviction on a technicality. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the basis for overturning the conviction “a slender reed” that essentially ignored a five-month-long trial with 66 witnesses.
Bragg hailed the high court’s decision. “This office has remained steadfast in its pursuit of justice for Etan and the Patz family and will continue to stand by this important conviction,” Bragg, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Background on the Case
Hernandez, 64, has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2015, and a second trial in 2017 resulted in a conviction. The appeals court reversed that conviction because of how the trial judge answered a question from jurors during deliberations. Jurors had asked: If they decided Hernandez didn’t confess voluntarily when he hadn’t been read his rights yet, must they disregard his other confessions? The judge responded simply, “the answer is no.” The appeals court said the jury’s question should have gotten a more fulsome answer, including the possibility of discounting all confessions.
Prosecutors had been preparing to try Hernandez for a third time before the Supreme Court intervened.
Defense Response and Confession Controversy
Hernandez’ lawyers said they were “terribly disappointed” by the ruling. “We firmly believe that an innocent man is in jail for a crime that he did not commit,” attorneys Harvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier said. Hernandez admitted to the crime under police questioning, but his lawyers say he confessed falsely because of a mental illness that sometimes made him hallucinate. They emphasized that the admission came after police queried him for about seven hours before reading him his rights and recording the interview. Hernandez then repeated his confession on tape at least twice.
Etan Patz Disappearance and Legacy
Etan vanished while walking to his downtown Manhattan school bus stop on May 25, 1979. Hernandez worked at a nearby convenience shop at the time, but the Maple Shade, New Jersey, resident didn’t become a suspect until 2012. Etan was among the first missing children ever to appear on milk cartons, and the anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children’s Day.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report from New York.
