Etan Patz: Lone-Juror ‘Adam’ Couldn’t Find Enough Convicting Evidence In 11-To-1 Standoff


Recently, Pedro Hernandez, Etan Patz’s alleged killer, has been undergoing trial. However, a jury has been unable to come to a verdict, and that seems to be because of one juror.

He chose to go by first-name-only, Adam. Adam says that he couldn’t get over the fact that Etan Patz’s alleged killer has a mental illness. He said that, to him (Adam), such an illness plays a critical factor. As ABC News reports, the Etan-Patz juror says that the evidence that he was presented with was mostly circumstantial.

“First, my name is Adam. I’m Juror #11. Ultimately, I couldn’t find enough evidence that wasn’t circumstantial to convict. I couldn’t get there.

“For me, his confession was very bizarre. No matter how many times it happened, it got more and more bizarre. And I feel that, in the initial confession, there were a lot of issues surrounding the custody… Miranda rights… the fact that it wasn’t videoed for six or seven hours. And I felt like mental health issues were a huge part of this case.

“[The deliberation] It wasn’t fun. We had huge respect for each other, and it did get heated sometimes. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t torture either. It was just very, very intellectual. I feel that all my fellow jurors were very respectful of my decision. I’m proud to be on the jury with all of them, even if I don’t agree with all of them about the decision. And I’m really honored that this is our system. It was really beautiful to see it from the inside.”

Unlike Adam, many feel that the Etan Patz case would’ve been open-and-closed after trials began. However, it’s lasted longer than expected. Even the verdict deliberation lasted 18 days.

Etan Patz‘s father, Stanley Patz, wasn’t as forgiving as Juror #11. He made a statement after the lengthy deliberation as well.

“We are frustrated and very disappointed that the jury has been unable to come to a decision. This man did it. He said it. How many times does a man have to confess before someone believes him?

…Underneath it all, you have a guilty man who finally got it off his chest.

…Maybe Pedro Hernandez is a different man, now that he’s mature and 54, but when he was 18 years old, he did something terrible, and he should pay for that. Our long ordeal is not over.”

What are your thoughts about the juror’s reasoning? Do you feel the evidence is purely circumstantial as well? Or is there merit, regardless of mental illness?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Photo Credits: Twitter]

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