Story perspectives

Supreme Court 6-3 Restores 1979 Murder Conviction

6/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to restore Pedro Hernandez’s 1979 murder conviction, rejecting a federal appeals court order.
Hernandez, 64, confessed in 2012, though his lawyers claim the statement was unreliable because of mental illness and prolonged questioning.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg praised the decision as upholding a five-month trial with 66 witnesses.
The majority said the Second Circuit exceeded its authority under the 1996 federal habeas-corpus statute.

History

Historical Context

In 1976 the Court narrowed constitutional protections, ruling in United States v. Miller that bank records lack Fourth Amendment privacy and in Estelle v. Gamble that deliberate medical neglect, not ordinary malpractice, meets the Eighth Amendment. That era’s emphasis on statutory limits continued, as seen in the 1993 7-2 Helling decision and today’s 6-3 vote reinstating a 1979 murder conviction under AEDPA.

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Story summary

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to restore Pedro Hernandez’s 1979 murder conviction, rejecting a federal appeals court order.
Hernandez, 64, confessed in 2012, though his lawyers claim the statement was unreliable because of mental illness and prolonged questioning.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg praised the decision as upholding a five-month trial with 66 witnesses.
The majority said the Second Circuit exceeded its authority under the 1996 federal habeas-corpus statute.

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