One of the two men convicted of murder, as depicted on Netflix‘s documentary series Making a Murderer, has had his conviction overturned.
On Thursday the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the August ruling of U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin, who ruled that the confession used to convict Brendan Dassey in the murder of Teresa Halbach was obtained illegally.
Making a Murderer sparked a great deal of debate when it debuted on the streaming platform in December 2015. No matter where you landed on the show or guilt of Steve Avery and Brendan Dassey, the one take away everyone could agree on is that justice was not served.
The series showed footage of police interviews with then 15-year-old Dassey, wherein he had no legal representation or guardian present. The video also shows what appears to be detectives guiding Dassey to the answers they wanted.
In the videos, it was clear Dassey did not fully grasp what was going on or the repercussions of his words. Despite the questionable validity of the confession it was a key piece of evidence in Dassey’s original conviction.
Netflix has commissioned a second season of Making a Murderer, so expect all aspects of this ruling to be covered.
H/T NBC News
