A panel of federal judges ruled on Thursday that the confession in a high-profile, Wisconsin murder case was illegitimate. According to the three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, unless the state of Wisconsin decides to retry him within 90 days or appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, Dassey should be released. Dassey, who was convicted in the murder of Teresa Halbach and sentenced to life in prison, was found to have been coerced by investigators into a confession. Her charred remains were found in an incineration barrel and a burn pit on Avery's property, about 80 miles (130 km) north of Milwaukee. The judges ruled that Wisconsin courts had failed to consider Dassey's age - he was 16 at the time of the confession - and his diminished mental capacity when they rejected his earlier appeals. In a statement, they said, "In rejecting the State's assertion that Brendan confessed voluntarily, the court acknowledged what many parents already recognize: Brendan's youthfulness and intellectual disability make him particularly vulnerable in the interrogation room".
Johnny Koremenos, a spokesman for Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, said his office was evaluating the decision.
In 2006, Brendan Dassey was interrogated by investigators Mark Wiegert and Tom Fassbender without the presence of an adult or a lawyer. And now it will be up to a Sheboygan County Judge, who's been assigned to the case because the trial judge has retired, to decided whether the motion has any merit.
The court described the method used to get Dassey to confess as "death by a thousand cuts", with judge David Hamilton saying the decision "breaks new ground and poses troubling questions for police and prosecutors".
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As you know if you watched Making a Murderer, Dassey was convicted in 2007 for his role in the murder and assault to Teresa Halbach. She says he's already been in prison for 4,132 days. They can also appeal the full 7th Circuit panel or to the U.S. Supreme Court. The follow-up episodes of the documentary series will follow Steven Avery's highly controversial case with his new legal representation as they challenge his conviction. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach. But that ruling didn't mean Dassey was done with America's justice system.
The judge also ordered that Dassey would have to disclose where he would be living, but that information would be kept from the public for his own safety.
August 2, 2007: Dassey is sentenced to mandatory life in prison with a possibility of parole set for November 1, 2048.
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