Overview

• The appeals panel vacated Hernandez’s 2017 conviction for the 1979 kidnapping and murder of six-year-old Etan Patz, finding a jury instruction error prejudicial to his defense.
• Judges ruled that the trial court incorrectly told jurors they could consider later confessions even if an initial, pre-Miranda statement was involuntary.
• Hernandez’s conviction hinged entirely on his own statements in the absence of any physical evidence linking him to Patz’s disappearance.
• Court documents note Hernandez’s low IQ and history of mental illness raised questions about the voluntariness of his lengthy interrogations.
• The Second Circuit directed that Hernandez be retried or released within a reasonable timeframe as prosecutors determine their next steps.