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US DEFENCE LAWYER Dean Strang, who represented convicted Wisconsin murderer Steven Avery during his 2006, has said that he holds out hope that Avery will get a new court date.
Avery’s case (and the case of his nephew Brendan Dassey) was made worlds famous by the 2014 Netflix documentary Making A Murderer.
The pair were separately sentenced for the 2005 murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach.
The documentary series outlined numerous alleged flaws in the case against Avery and prompted demands for judicial review.
Dassey had his conviction overturned last year, but remains in prison pending the resolution of an appeal from prosecutors.
Speaking to reporters today in Dublin, Strang – who represented Steven Avery throughout his 2006 murder trial – said that he was hopeful new evidence could be discovered that would help Avery’s case.
“There’s no question that Steven Avery’s current lawyers are talented and devoting enormous effort to securing newly discovered evidence, retesting, using the methods available in 2017 rather than just the methods available in 2006,” he said.
I’m very hopeful that they will discover new evidence that really might have made a difference in the outcome and that they’ll be able to get him back into court.
According to CNN, Avery lodged appeals alleging violations of due process rights in his prosecution last month.
In relation to Dassey, Strang also said that his current lawyers were immensely capable.
“Their results so far speak for themselves,” he said.
The oral argument in the federal court of appeals is upcoming in 14 February and I know that Brendan Dassey’s lawyers will do as good or better a job than any lawyer in the country could do for their client.
Innocence project
Strang was speaking after a speech he gave at the launch of the Bar of Ireland’s 2017 innocence scholarships.
The scholarships are awarded each year to five barristers, who are sponsored to travel to the USA to work on Innocence Projects in different States.
The Innocence Project is a USA litigation and public policy organisation dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted.
It does this primarily through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system in order to prevent future injustice.
The Innocence Project has played a strong part in the case of Steven Avery.
In his speech, Srang talked about the need to defend people in the criminal justice system at all costs.
He said viewing people who may have committed crimes and were in need of defence as a “them” was wrong. Strang said that the majority of people had committed some sort of illegal activity in the lives.
“There is no ‘us’ and there is no ‘them’,” said Strang.
Strang also defended the Making a Murderer filmmakers against criticism that they edited the footage of Avery’s case to look favourably on him.
“I think the editorial decisions that the filmmakers made were reasonable,” he said.
“Given the mass of material they had distilling it required editorial judgement and I think that judgement was fair.
I think that the criticism has been misplaced in the main. The filmmakers gave more than 3 hours to actual footage of one trial.
Anybody who’s not satisfied with that length of treatment… should go make his or her own movie.
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Amazing that you win one match, and you get into the qualifers
@The Firestarter: the would have got in even if they lost against France, tho likely unseeded
@The Firestarter: what are you talking about?
@The Firestarter: kinda hard not to qualify
@The Firestarter: zzzzzzzzzz
@john kenny: zz
Big hard man Damien O’Sullivan giving pelters to women who have achieved more in their lives than he ever will. Damien, you are a troll on the Internet and these woman are representing their country. They stand head and shoulders above people like you. Let that sink in.
@Sun Rise: As ever you are brave behind your keyboard and fake name. The fact you call people trolls while trolling the internet behind tells a lot about the person behind the account.
@Ger Whelan: you are a vicious piece of work. He is defending the womens team show respect boy.
@Sean Money: was it Putin’s fault the girls didn’t win all their games?
@Ger Whelan: you are a sick puppy. Be happy Ireland won.
@Sean Money: Erm they didn’t win . They finished bottom of their group with 1 win out of 5 games. Hardly worth celebrating
@Sun Rise: I reported you just now.
Hopefully the last comment you’ll ever make on this.
I repeat. The current team is useless they were much better under Vera. Constructive criticism, not some misogynistic agenda you’re pushing.
Suck on that.
@Sun Rise: God help the team if they have likes of you ‘looking out’ for them.
You’ll be hearing from the Journal soon. Bye bye a*****e.
Good draw
They’re useless
@Damien O’Sullivan: i hope your talking about FFG,,,
@Damien O’Sullivan: Damien give that phone back to your mother until you mature a bit like a good little boy.
@James Leahy: Just criticising the current team. They were better under Vera.
Why don’t you run off and troll elsewhere fool. You have no idea what you’re talking about
@james rowan: Yeah them too
Nobody is interested in women’s soccer, it’s just not very good
@Auld Lad: 16 000 in Pairc Ui Caoimh.
@Auld Lad: another Immature small boy pretending to be an Auld lad.
@James Leahy: oh look, here’s the white Knight on his steed, getting offended on behalf of women everywhere
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: been to bigger raves
@Auld Lad: yeah we can tell…oh the irony
@Auld Lad: doubt you’ve left your mother’s basement in the past ten years.
No stopping them now after they beat France so easily
have your say