The US Supreme Court on Monday upheld the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez in the case of Etan Patz, a six-year-old boy who disappeared in 1979. The 6-3 decision allowed the New York prosecutors' appeal to overturn the previous ruling by the federal appeals court that had dismissed the conviction. Three liberal justices of the court disagreed with the majority's decision.
Prosecutors were previously preparing for a third trial of Hernandez. His first trial ended in a hung jury, while his second trial in 2017 resulted in a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Basis of the Court's Decision
A unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had previously overturned Hernandez's conviction on the grounds that the judge answered a question from the jury in an improper manner. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the basis for the reversal as a 'weak reason' and ignored the five-month trial with 66 witnesses.
In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court justices wrote that the Second Circuit had 'exceeded its authority' by granting Hernandez's release. They emphasized that federal courts should not question state court decisions under the 1996 federal law aimed at reducing federal oversight of state criminal trials.
Reactions from Involved Parties
Bragg praised the Supreme Court's decision. "It is hard to imagine the suffering of losing a child, waiting so long for justice, and having to prepare for further proceedings," Bragg said at a press conference on another issue. He hopes the Patz family will find some peace from this decision.
Hernandez's attorneys, Harvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier, expressed their disappointment with the decision. "We are very confident that an innocent man has been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit," they said.
Background of the Case
Etan Patz disappeared while walking to his school bus stop in Manhattan on May 25, 1979. At the time, Hernandez worked at a nearby convenience store, but the man from Maple Shade, New Jersey, became a suspect only in 2012. Etan was one of the first missing children whose photo appeared on milk cartons, and the anniversary of his disappearance is recognized as National Missing Children's Day.
Hernandez once told a friend years ago about killing a child or teenager in New York, and later told the police that he had killed Etan. His attorney argued that the confession was false due to mental illness, which sometimes caused him to hallucinate. They emphasized that his confession to the police was made after being interrogated for about seven hours before his rights were read and the interview was recorded. Hernandez then repeated his confession in recordings at least twice.
During the 2017 trial, the jury posed a complex question: If they decided that Hernandez did not voluntarily confess before his rights were read, would they need to disregard other confessions? The judge responded briefly: "The answer is no." The jury then delivered the conviction. The appeals court overturned the conviction, arguing that the jury's question should have been answered more thoroughly, including the possibility of dismissing all confessions.
A retrial of Hernandez is expected to begin in September, and prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to report to the trial judge next week. When asked about the next steps, Bragg said the prosecutors will wait for guidance from the appellate court and the state court handling this case.