Key Facts

• Etan Patz disappeared in 1979 while walking alone to his school bus stop in New York City.
• Pedro Hernandez was convicted of Etan’s murder and kidnapping but had two earlier trials: one ended without a verdict, the other was overturned by an appeals court.
• The appeals court reversed Hernandez’s conviction because the judge gave a simple answer to a complicated jury question about confessions.
• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal courts should not interfere with state court decisions under a law meant to reduce federal review of state criminal cases.
• Hernandez confessed during police questioning, but his lawyers say it was a false confession influenced by his mental illness.
• Hernandez is 64 years old and has been in prison with a sentence of 25 years to life; he can apply for parole in 2037.
• Etan Patz’s case was one of the first to raise public awareness about missing children and inspired National Missing Children’s Day.
• Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg supported the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the conviction, calling the appeals court’s reasoning weak.