"A federal judge will weigh Tuesday whether to release the former New York City bodega clerk whose murder conviction in the notorious 1979 disappearance of little Etan Patz was stunningly overturned. Pedro Hernandez, 64, argues that he should be freed from state prison in light of an appeals court's finding in July ordering his release unless the Manhattan District Attorney's office sets a new trial date within a "reasonable" time period."
"The DA's office has countered that Hernandez should stay locked up at Clinton Correctional Facility until the US Supreme Court decides whether to hear prosecutors' bid to restore the conviction. Prosecutors said they have taken preliminary steps to prepare for what would be an arduous third trial. But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has yet to confirm whether his office will in fact re-try the decades-old case, which was brought by his predecessor, Cy Vance."
Judge Colleen McMahon will hear arguments on whether to release Pedro Hernandez, 64, whose 1979 murder conviction in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz was overturned. An appeals court ordered his release unless the Manhattan District Attorney's office sets a new trial date within a reasonable time. The DA's office seeks to keep Hernandez at Clinton Correctional Facility pending a possible US Supreme Court decision on prosecutors' bid to restore the conviction. Prosecutors have begun preparing for a possible third trial, but Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has not confirmed a retrial. Etan vanished in SoHo on May 25, 1979; his body was never recovered, no physical evidence tied Hernandez, and Hernandez gave a videotaped confession.
Read at New York Post
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