{"id":10894,"date":"2016-08-13T04:51:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-13T04:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=10894"},"modified":"2016-08-13T04:51:57","modified_gmt":"2016-08-13T04:51:57","slug":"judge-overturns-conviction-of-nephew-in-making-a-murderer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/judge-overturns-conviction-of-nephew-in-making-a-murderer.html","title":{"rendered":"Judge overturns conviction of nephew in Making a Murderer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judge overturns conviction of nephew in Making a Murderer<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Judge overturns conviction of nephew in Making a Murderer<\/strong>: MADISON, Wis. \u2014 A judge on Friday overturned the conviction of a Wisconsin man found guilty of helping his uncle kill a woman in a case profiled in the Netflix series \u201cMaking a Murderer,\u201d ruling that investigators coerced a confession using deceptive tactics.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Magistrate William Duffin in Milwaukee ordered Brendan Dassey freed within 90 days unless prosecutors decide to retry him. The state Department of Justice, which handled the case, declined to comment Friday. The state could also appeal Duffin\u2019s ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dassey\u2019s case burst into the public\u2019s consciousness with the popularity of the \u201cMaking a Murderer\u201d series that debuted in December. The filmmakers cast doubt on the legal process used to convict Dassey and his uncle Steven Avery in the death of Teresa Halbach, and their work sparked national interest and conjecture. Authorities involved in the case have called the 10-hour series biased, while the filmmakers have stood by their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dassey confessed to helping Avery carry out the rape and killing of Halbach, but his attorneys argued that his constitutional rights were violated throughout the investigation. Dassey didn\u2019t testify at his uncle\u2019s trial and his confession wasn\u2019t presented as evidence there. Both men are serving life sentences.<\/span>
\n<\/a>Duffin said in his ruling that investigators made false promises to Dassey by assuring him \u201che had nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese repeated false promises, when considered in conjunction with all relevant factors, most especially Dassey\u2019s age, intellectual deficits, and the absence of a supportive adult, rendered Dassey\u2019s confession involuntary under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments (of the U.S. Constitution),\u201d Duffin wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dassey, who is now 26, was 16 when Halbach, a photographer, was killed in 2005 after she went to the Avery family auto salvage yard to take pictures of some vehicles. Court papers describe Dassey as a slow learner with poor grades, with difficulty understanding some aspects of language and expressing himself verbally. He was also described as extremely introverted and poor at picking up on communications such as body language and tone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dassey was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse in Halbach\u2019s killing. Avery was tried and convicted separately in the homicide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Avery made headlines in 2003 when he was released from prison after spending 18 years behind bars for a rape he didn\u2019t commit. After being freed, he had a $36 million lawsuit pending against public officials when Halbach disappeared on Halloween 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s ruling came after Dassey\u2019s appeal was rejected by state courts. The judge said that Dassey\u2019s confession to police in 2006 was \u201cso clearly involuntary\u201d that a state appeals court ruling to the contrary was an unreasonable application of established federal law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe court does not reach this conclusion lightly,\u201d Duffin wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigators did not have any ill motive, the judge wrote, but rather \u201can intentional and concerted effort to trick Dassey into confessing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The error was not harmless because Dassey\u2019s confession was the entirety of the case against him, the judge said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laura Nirider, one of Dassey\u2019s attorneys, said he thought that if he told investigators what they wanted to hear, he\u2019d get to go back to school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is justice for that 16-year-old kid … who we all saw being bullied into giving a statement that was completely untrue,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dassey, who has been incarcerated for 10 years, is in shock and wants to go home, she said. If prosecutors decide to bring a new trial, the confession would not be usable, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brother who has acted as a Halbach family spokesman did not immediately respond to phone messages and an email.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kathleen Zellner, an attorney for Avery, said in a statement that Avery was thrilled for his nephew. Avery is pursuing his own appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know when an unbiased court reviews all of the new evidence we have, Steven will have his conviction overturned as well,\u201d Zellner said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s first defense attorney, said he doesn\u2019t believe the decision will have any bearing on Avery\u2019s case.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe kid\u2019s confession was not entered into evidence against Avery, and I don\u2019t think it impacted Avery\u2019s trial at all,\u201d Friedberg said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netflix last month announced that new episodes of \u201cMaking a Murderer\u201d were in production to follow appeals by both Avery and Dassey.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we have done for the past 10 years, we will continue to document the story as it unfolds, and follow it wherever it may lead,\u201d filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos said in a written statement following Friday\u2019s ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/entertainment\/judge-overturns-conviction-of-nephew-in-making-a-murderer\/2016\/08\/12\/7889bb3c-60ef-11e6-84c1-6d27287896b5_story.html<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t