Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in case of Etan Patz, missing NYC boy
Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez for the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City. The Court ruled that a lower federal appeals court wrongly overturned Hernandez’s conviction based on a judge’s explanation to jurors during the trial.Key Facts
- The Supreme Court voted 6-3 to reinstate Hernandez’s murder conviction.
- Etan Patz disappeared in 1979 while walking to his school bus stop in Manhattan.
- Hernandez was convicted of murder and kidnapping after a retrial in 2017 but his conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court.
- The appeals court reversed the conviction because of how the trial judge answered a juror’s question about confessions.
- The Supreme Court said federal courts should not interfere with state court decisions unless there is a clear legal error.
- Hernandez confessed to the crime after long police questioning, but his lawyers argue his confession was false due to mental illness.
- Hernandez is serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
- Etan Patz’s case was one of the first high-profile missing child cases and helped create National Missing Children’s Day.
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