Overview

• A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit issued its decision on July 21, vacating Hernandez’s 2017 conviction and mandating a new trial or his release unless retried promptly.
• The appeals court concluded that the trial judge’s response to a jury note about confessions given before and after Miranda warnings was manifestly prejudicial.
• Hernandez’s conviction hinged entirely on his 2012 interrogation statements, which his attorneys argue were false and driven by his mental illness and low IQ.
• Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is reviewing the ruling to determine whether to seek a new trial or release Hernandez.
• Etan Patz’s 1979 disappearance spurred landmark missing-children reforms, including milk-carton alerts, a national hotline and National Missing Children’s Day.