Brendan Dassey was just 17 years old when he was convicted of helping his uncle Steven Avery with the murder of Teresa Halbach.
Now, in a turn of events that’s sure to please many fans of the popular Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, a judge has ordered that Dassey be released from prison after six failed appeals and nearly a decade behind bars.
Multiple news outlets reported moments ago that a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that Dassey’s constitutional rights were violated when police coerced a confession from him when he was just 16 years old.
As Murderer viewers know, it was more than just his youth that made Dassey vulnerable to the investigators’ highly questionable methods.
The Wisconsin native has been diagnosed with multiple intellectual and emotional disabilities.
The documentary series shocked millions with scenes that showed the ways in which Dassey was manipulated during his interrogation and his lack of understanding of the severity of what was taking place:
“Dassey’s borderline to below average intellectual ability likely made him more susceptible to coercive pressures than a peer of higher intellect,” his judge said today
The judge also stated that he took issue with Dassey’s insufficient representation during his trial.
Dassey’s first attorney, Len Kachinsky, permitted him to be interrogated without the presence of counsel.
Clearly, this is good news for Dassey and his family, but they’re not out of the woods yet.
Prosecutors have 90 days to decide if they want to re-try the case.
Dassey’s uncle, Steven Avery is still appealing his conviction of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Police and prosecutors believe Dassey and Avery murdered Halbach, a local photographer, in 2005.
The cases became the subject of intense public interest when Murderer debuted on Netflix last year.
