The US Supreme Court has restored a murder conviction that a federal appeals panel had overturned in the decades-old disappearance of Etan Patz, a six-year-old who vanished from a Manhattan street in 1979. The 6-3 decision on Monday returned the case to its prior footing after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals had thrown out the conviction of Pedro Hernandez, 64, over what it deemed a flawed jury instruction.
Hernandez was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in New York state court. Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979, while heading to a school bus stop in SoHo. His body was never recovered, though investigators identified Hernandez as a suspect more than three decades later when he confessed. At the time of Patz's disappearance, Hernandez worked at a convenience store near the boy's usual route.
The pivotal issue centered on jury instructions regarding Hernandez's confessions. During the trial, jurors asked whether they should disregard later confessions if they found an earlier statement, given before he received Miranda warnings, was coerced. The judge answered no. The appeals court called this response "clearly wrong" and "manifestly prejudicial," saying jurors deserved fuller guidance on how to weigh the confessions.
The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that the lower court had overstepped its authority. In its opinion, the Court stated that while the appeals panel appeared skeptical of Hernandez's confessions, federal law does not permit a federal court to overturn a state conviction based solely on weighing evidence reliability. The justices found the jury instruction adequate under applicable legal standards.
Hernandez's legal team responded with dismay. "We firmly believe that an innocent man is in jail for a crime that he did not commit," his attorneys said in a statement. They have argued that Hernandez, who suffers from mental illness, made a false confession after roughly seven hours of police questioning that occurred before he was read his rights.
Hernandez's statement to authorities detailed luring Patz into the basement of his workplace, strangling the child, and disposing of the body in an alley. No physical evidence corroborated the confession.
The case had already weathered one trial in 2015 that ended in mistrial when the jury deadlocked. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called Monday's ruling a vindication, pledging that his office would "remain steadfast in its pursuit of justice for Etan and the Patz family."
Author James Rodriguez: "The Supreme Court's deference to state convictions, even in cases resting on confession evidence alone, underscores how high the bar has become for overturning convictions on habeas review."
Comments