A federal appeals court narrowly overturned a ruling that could have freed the inmate featured in the Netflix series ‘Making a Murderer’ from prison.
The full Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reviewed Brendan Dassey’s claims that investigators tricked him into confessing that he took part in raping and killing photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005.
Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after telling detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach.
The full Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reviewed Brendan Dassey’s claims that investigators tricked him into confessing that he took part in raping and killing photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. Dassey is pictured in 2007 when he was sentenced to life in prison
Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after telling detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach
The opinion, which came to four in favor and three dissenting, said the ruling wasn’t obvious or easy but that it came down to whether findings by Wisconsin state courts that Dassey wasn’t coerced into confessing were reasonable.
Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner (pictured) wrote that the opinion was a ‘profound miscarriage of justice’ in her dissent
‘The state courts’ finding that Dassey’s confession was voluntary was not beyond fair debate, but we conclude it was reasonable,’ their 39-page ruling said.
But Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner strongly disagreed.
‘His confession was not voluntary and his conviction should not stand, and yet an impaired teenager has been sentenced to life in prison,’ she wrote in her dissent.
‘I view this as a profound miscarriage of justice.’
In her dissent, Chief Judge Diane P Wood added: ‘Without this involuntary and highly unreliable confession, the case against Dassey was almost nonexistent.’
A federal magistrate judge overturned Dassey’s conviction last year, ruling that detectives took advantage of Dassey’s youth and learning disabilities to coerce his confession. He was only 16 at the time.
A three-judge panel from the Seventh Circuit upheld the magistrate’s ruling in June – but the state asked for a review, leading to Friday’s decision.
The opinion, which came to four in favor and three dissenting, said the ruling wasn’t obvious or easy but that it came down to whether findings by Wisconsin state courts that Dassey wasn’t coerced into confessing were reasonable (Dassey is pictured in 2007)
A federal magistrate judge overturned Dassey’s conviction last year, ruling that detectives took advantage of Dassey’s youth and learning disabilities to coerce his confession. He was only 16 at the time. He is pictured in 2007
It wasn’t immediately clear if Dassey’s attorneys would appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The case gained national attention in 2015 after Netflix aired its multi-part documentary, Making a Murderer, which suggested that Avery Dassey were innocent but had been railroaded by local officials
State attorneys asked the full Seventh Circuit to review the case, arguing the ruling called long-accepted police interrogation tactics into question. The appellate court rarely grants such reviews but opted to take Dassey’s case in August without comment on the merits.
Dassey has remained in prison while the state appeals.
Both Avery and Dassey contend police framed them because they wanted revenge against Avery for filing a lawsuit against Manitowoc County over wrongful imprisonment for a sexual assault he didn’t commit.
The case gained national attention in 2015 after Netflix aired its multi-part documentary, Making a Murderer, which suggested that Avery Dassey were innocent but had been railroaded by local officials.
Authorities who worked on the cases said the series was biased.
The filmmakers defended their work and supported calls to set both Avery and Dassey free.