The film series follows Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey.
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Dassey was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse in Halbach’s killing.
Summarising his ruling, Mr Duffin added that he had “significant doubts” about the reliability of the conviction because it was based on a confession characterised by “repeated leading and suggestive questioning”, where investigators “exploited” the then 16-year-old Mr Dassey without an… They also included wording about his “age and intellectual defects”. Dassey did not testify at Steven Avery’s trial and his confession was not submitted as evidence. He was pursuing a lawsuit against Manitowoc County officials when he was arrested in Halbach’s killing in 2005.
“This is right, this is justice”, Dassey’s attorney Laura Nirider told ABC News on Friday night, Us Weekly reports.
Avery had been previously convicted for the 1985 rape of Penny Beernsten.
Dassey’s case burst into the public’s consciousness with the popularity of the “Making a Murderer” series that debuted in December. We are thankful and proud that a federal court fulfilled its fundamental role for Brendan Dassey today.
In the wake of Friday’s decision by a federal judge overturning Brendan Dassey’s conviction in the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, Dassey’s first attorney is talking about it. It might seem like a dark twist on a situation involving death and the life of two possibly innocent men, but it’s the realities of a documentary series at the same time.
Avery was convicted in 1985 in the rape of jogger Penny Beerntsen on a beach near her home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
“Dassey’s confession was, as a practical matter, the entirety of the case against him”, the judge wrote.
The investigators did not have any ill motive, the judge wrote, but rather “an intentional and concerted effort to trick Dassey into confessing”.
Duffin wrote that Kachinsky’s conduct throughout the case was tactically and ethically inexcusable.
Kathleen Zellner says she was visiting Avery on Friday and he was “so happy” for Brendan Dassey. Zellner said in a statement that she’s confident that Avery’s conviction will eventually be overturned “when an unbiased court” reviews new evidence.
“The kid’s confession was not entered into evidence against Avery, and I don’t think it impacted Avery’s trial at all”, Friedberg said.
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Making a Murderer creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos released a statement (via Variety) in light of the recent events, saying they plan to “continue to document the story as it unfolds, and follow it wherever it may lead”.
