# Etan Patz. Conviction based solely on confession **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090 "2012-05-25T19:02:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090/21 "2026-06-23T17:19:14Z")
The supreme court did not actually reverse the appeal court verdict. They basically said the (federal) appeal court could not intervene in a state matter so its ruling was invalid, it has to go through the full state court system first (to the state supreme court?). > “The second circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief.” Plenty of people confess to crimes they did not commit, especially after intense interrogation by police for hours. From what I read, Hernandez allegedly told relatives something about killing a child much earlier. I wonder if that qualifies as “corroborating evidence”. As I understand, that is not excluded as hearsay. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090/22 "2026-06-23T17:45:25Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > it has to go through the full state court system first (to the state supreme court?) Somewhat confusingly, the “Supreme Court” in New York is a trial court, while the state’s highest court is called the Court of Appeals. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090/23 "2026-07-04T03:43:51Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Can’t speak for other states , but according to the NYS Criminal Procedure Law Because this thread came up again, I looked for an explicit statement of the law in my area, but could not find one. I’ve seen the general statement that “evidence of crime is not necessary for prosecution”, but found nothing in the actual law and regulation. All I’ve got is: > Evidence of the admission is not admissible unless the circumstances in which the admission was made were such as to make it unlikely that the truth of the admission was adversely affected … > the court .. is to take into account — (a) any relevant condition or characteristic of the person who made the admission, including age, personality and education and any mental, intellectual or physical disability to which the person is or appears to be subject; Which I guess is the point: there is nothing in the law or regulation here (vic.au) that suggests that corroborating evidence of crime is required. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090/24 "2026-07-04T16:25:51Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I wonder if that qualifies as “corroborating evidence”. As I understand, that is not excluded as hearsay. It’s not excluded as hearsay because it’s an admission. Evidence that a crime occurred would still be necessary. But a six year old disappearing is evidence that a crime has been committed in a way that a missing 15 year old isn’t necessarily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etan-patz-conviction-based-solely-on-confession/623090.md?page=1)