The Manhattan District Attorney's office has requested intervention from the U.S.
Supreme Court regarding the retrial of Pedro Hernandez, who was convicted of murdering Etan Patz.
Hernandez's retrial has become uncertain following a federal appeals court ruling that identified an error made by the trial judge.
The appeals court ordered that Hernandez be either retried or released within a reasonable timeframe.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a federal judge for 90 days to decide whether to proceed with a new trial, while defense attorneys argue that only 30 days should be allowed.
The judge is expected to make a decision on the timeframe soon.
Etan Patz disappeared in 1979 while walking to school in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.
His case was groundbreaking as he was the first missing child to have his image appear on a milk carton, which significantly influenced how missing children cases are handled nationwide.
Hernandez, now 64 years old, is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence after being convicted in 2017 for the kidnapping and murder of Patz.
The conviction was based largely on Hernandez's confessions, as there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime.
Hernandez's trial was his second, following a hung jury in the first trial.
His confessions to police, in which he admitted to choking the six-year-old Patz and luring him into a basement, were central to the prosecution's case.
Hernandez has a documented history of mental illness and a low IQ, reportedly in the bottom 2 percent of the population.
His defense argued that his confessions were unreliable and possibly fabricated due to his mental state and difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy.
The controversy centers on the jury instructions given during Hernandez's trial.
The jury asked the judge whether they must disregard Hernandez's later confessions if they found the initial confession, made before he was read his Miranda rights, was involuntary.
The judge instructed the jury that they did not have to disregard the later confessions, a ruling the federal appeals court deemed clearly wrong and prejudicial.
This legal error prompted the appeals court to order a retrial or release.
As the legal process unfolds, the Manhattan DA's office seeks the Supreme Court's guidance on how to proceed.
The case remains a significant and emotional chapter in the history of missing children in the United States, highlighting ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system related to confessions, mental health, and fair trial procedures.