A THREE-JUDGE Federal appeals panel in the US has ruled that the confession of Brendan Dassey to a murder in 2005 was improperly obtained, and he should be released from prison.
Dassey was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2007. He had told investigators that he had helped his uncle Steven Avery rape and kill the photographer in the family’s scrap yard in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
The story of Avery and Dassey gained a global audience with the hit Netflix series Making a Murderer.
A federal magistrate judge ruled in August that investigators coerced Dassey, who was 16 years old at the time and suffered from cognitive problems, into confessing and overturned his conviction.
The state Justice Department appealed the ruling in a move that kept Dassey, now 27, behind bars pending the outcome.
With the latest ruling from the three-judge Federal panel, the only option for the State of Wisconsin if they wish to keep Dassey incarcerated is to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Johnny Koremenos, a spokesman for Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, said the office expects to seek review by the full 7th Circuit or the US Supreme Court, and hopes “that today’s erroneous decision will be reversed.”
“We continue to send our condolences to the Halbach family as they have to suffer through another attempt by Mr Dassey to re-litigate his guilty verdict and sentence,” Koremenos said.
Laura Nirider, a lawyer who aided Dassey’s defense, called it “a victory for Brendan.”
Avery and Dassey contend they were framed by police angry with Avery for suing Manitowoc County over his wrongful conviction for sexual assault.
Avery spent 18 years in prison in that case before DNA tests showed he didn’t commit the crime. He’s pursuing his own appeal in state court.
Following the airing of Making a Murderer on Netflix, a massive following on social media began pushing for the pair’s release.
Authorities who worked on the cases insisted the documentary is biased. Ken Kratz, the prosecutor, wrote in his book “Avery” that Dassey was “a shuffling, mumbling young man with bad skin and broken-bowl haircut” who could have saved Halbach’s life but instead involved himself in her rape and murder and Avery is “by any measure of the evidence, stone guilty.”
With reporting from the Associated Press
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