Supreme Court Reinstates 2017 Etan Patz Murder Conviction
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, reinstated Pedro Hernandez’s 2017 murder conviction in the 1979 Etan Patz disappearance, overturning a Second Circuit ruling that had tossed the verdict over improper jury instructions. The Court said a 1996 federal law limits federal relief for state-court convictions. Hernandez confessed after waiving Miranda rights, though his lawyers argued coercion; Patz, 6, disappeared in Manhattan in 1979 and was never found. DA Alvin Bragg praised the ruling as delivering justice for the Patz family.