Brendan Dassey, whose confession to involvement in the murder of Teresa Halbach was depicted in the wildly popular Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer“, may be released from prison by Thanksgiving.
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The Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer” tells the story of a Wisconsin man wrongly convicted of sexual assault only to be accused, along with his nephew, of killing a photographer two years after being released.
The judge also faulted Dassey’s interrogation by investigators, who assured the teenager “he would not be punished if he admitted participating in the offenses” and that “he had nothing to worry about”.
He wrote, “While the circumstances for relief may be rare, even extraordinary, it is the conclusion of the court that this case represents the sort of “extreme malfunction in the state criminal justice system” that federal habeas corpus relief exists to correct”.
Nine months after the release of “Making A Murderer”, Brendan Dassey’s conviction in the rape and murder of Teresa Halbach has been overturned.
Based on those factors, the judge said Dassey’s constitutional rights were violated and, thus, the conviction was unlawful. The series will offer “exclusive access” to Avery’s new lawyer Kathleen Zellner, as well as Dassey’s attorneys, including Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin.
The main evidence against Dassey is his multiple confessions that appear to be coerced, as investigators used leading questions and Dassey didn’t have an adult supervision during the confessions. Avery has filed a notice of appeal in his own case.
Buting goes on to argue that judges could have been concerned that they would be voted out of their position if they made an unpopular decision, such as freeing Dassey. The teen received a life sentence despite the fact that his confession to the murder, which was later retracted, gave many viewers the impression that it had been coerced by detectives.
August 2, 2007: Dassey is sentenced to mandatory life in prison with a possibility of parole set for November 1, 2048. Prosecutors said she was killed by Avery and Dassey on October 31, 2005.
TMZ added that, in contrast, Avery’s brother Chuck said that he would not celebrate “until the other person wrongly convicted is also freed: his brother”.
Joe Friedberg, a defense attorney in Minnesota who was not involved in the case but is familiar with it and participated in a forum on it with Avery’s first defense attorney, said he doesn’t believe the decision will have any bearing on Avery’s case.
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The Emmy-nominated documentary suggests authorities planted evidence against both defendants, a claim rejected by the current sheriff.
