‘Making A Murderer’ Subject Brendan Dassey’s Conviction Has Been Overturned

Brendan Dassey, the younger of the two subjects profiled in the smash Netflix documentary series Making A Murderer, has had his conviction overturned by a federal judge upon appeal.

https://twitter.com/michaelhayes/status/764194578941501440

Dassey, who was convicted for taking part in the murder of Theresa Halbach in 2005, was 17 at the time he was sent to jail. As Making a Murderer extensively detailed, Brendan’s mental capacity was severely in question when he was coerced into confessing his part in the murder, including the interrogating detectives coaching him into providing details of the murder that were profoundly untrue at best — and impossible at worst.

Further, Brendan’s state-appointed attorney was proven to have been working hand in hand with law enforcement and sent his own private investigator to coerce a second confession out of Dassey, convincing him that he was working on behalf of the lawyer and in Brendan’s best interests. All of these conversations were captured on video and included in part (or in whole) during the documentary series.

Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007, tried separately from his uncle Stephen Avery, the main subject of Making a Murderer. In the wake of the series, there has been an outpouring of support for both Dassey and Avery, including from some professional wrestlers, of whom Dassey was a fan.

A second season of Making a Murderer has already been announced. Stephen Avery’s role in the case has had a lot more twists and turns since the documentary first came out, including some pretty damning evidence and Stephen’s condemning of his own lawyers.