On Monday, a New York appeals court overturned the conviction of a man jailed for killing a 6-year-old boy in 1979.
The court ruled that Pedro Hernandez, 64, must either receive a new trial or be released. According to The New York Times, Hernandez was found guilty of killing Etan Patz — whom he admitted to attacking after luring him to a basement from a New York City school bus stop.
Hernandez was initially arrested for Patz’s second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in 2012, but his first trial in 2015 ended with a hung jury. In 2017, a jury deliberated for nine days before convicting him of both crimes.
The appeals court ruled that during Hernandez’s second trial, the trial court issued a “clearly wrong” and “manifestly prejudicial” response to a jury note.
“When deliberating during his second trial, the jury sent the judge three different notes about Hernandez’s confessions,” Monday’s order detailed. “The third note asked the trial court to ‘explain’ whether, if the jury found that Hernandez’s un-Mirandized confession ‘was not voluntary,’ it ‘must disregard’ the later confessions, including the videotaped confessions at the local Camden County Prosecutor’s Office (‘CCPO’) and the Manhattan District Attorney’s (‘DA’s’) Office.”
The appeals court wrote that the trial court responded “no” without explanation. The jury convicted Hernandez seven days later.
The appeals court concluded that the ordeal “unquestionably” impacted juror deliberations
“Under the extraordinary circumstances of this case, we believe that no fair-minded jurist would conclude that the state has proved harmlessness beyond a reasonable doubt,” they wrote.
The New York Post reported Hernandez, a bodega clerk, confessed to strangling Patz after luring him with the promise of soda. Despite this, Patz’s body was never found — and no forensic evidence ever linked Hernandez to the crime, according to The New York Times.
Hernandez was 18 when Patz vanished. Hernandez’s attorneys claimed he was mentally ill and that he only issued a confession after seven hours of police questioning.
Patz was declared legally dead in 2001. NBC reported that police zeroed in on Hernandez in 2012 following a tip from his brother-in-law.
In a statement to NBC, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said they are reviewing Monday’s ruling. Patz’s family has not yet issued a public statement.
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[Feature Photo: California Department of Justice]
