A federal appeals court previously reversed the conviction, finding fault with the trial judge’s instructions to the jury.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 22 reinstated the murder conviction of Pedro Hernandez, who was tried in relation to the high-profile disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz in 1979.
The court’s 6–3 decision took the form of an unsigned order and opinion, in which the justices said an appeals court exceeded its authority in how it handled Hernandez’s verdict from a state court in New York. No oral argument was held. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented but did not explain why.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had asked the nation’s highest court to intervene and reverse a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which had overturned a state trial court’s guilty verdict finding that former delicatessen worker Pedro Hernandez kidnapped and murdered the child.
“Today the Supreme Court agreed with the findings of multiple lower courts and upheld the trial conviction of Pedro Hernandez for the horrific murder of Etan Patz, which changed a generation of New Yorkers,” Bragg said.
“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.”
Patz disappeared years ago while he was walking alone for the first time to a school bus stop in Manhattan, and was never seen again. His face became well-known as one of the first missing children whose likenesses were displayed on the side of milk cartons to publicize their disappearance in hopes of leading to investigative tips.
Police took Hernandez into custody in 2012 after receiving a tip that he confessed to the crime at a church group meeting years before. After that, he confessed several times to police that he lured the child to the basement of a delicatessen, strangled him, and left the body in an alley.
His lawyers questioned the validity of the confessions, saying he had not been read his Miranda rights.
A Miranda warning is a formal notification given to a criminal suspect in custody before interrogation takes place. A violation of Miranda rights can lead to certain evidence being thrown out or to a conviction being reversed on appeal.
Hernandez’s lawyers also argued that he was mentally ill, had a low IQ, and that police forced his confession.
His first trial resulted in a hung jury, but at his second trial he was found guilty of kidnapping and murder and given a 25-years-to-life prison term.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the conviction last year, finding the trial judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury that influenced the guilty verdict.
