Federal appeals court affirms 'Making a Murderer' confession was coerced

MADISON, Wis. - A federal appeals court ruled Thursday to uphold a lower court’s decision to overturn Brendan Dassey’s conviction.

Dassey was featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer." He was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach two years earlier. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family's Manitowoc County salvage yard.

A federal magistrate judge overturned Dassey's conviction last year. He ruled that investigators took advantage of Dassey's youth — he was 16 at the time — and cognitive problems to coerce his confession.

According to the ruling released Thursday, Dassey’s confession was not voluntarily given.

The state of Wisconsin argues that detectives did nothing wrong.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Justice released a statement Thursday.

"We are evaluating the 2-1 decision from the court. We anticipate seeking review by the entire 7th Circuit or the United States Supreme Court and hope that today's erroneous decision will be reversed. We continue to send our condolences to the Halbach family as they have to suffer through another attempt by Mr. Dassey to re-litigate his guilty verdict and sentence."

Defense will seek to secure Dassey release

Lawyers for Brendan Dassey, one of two men featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer," say they'll take immediate steps to secure his release now that a federal appeals court says his confession was improperly obtained.

Laura Nirider of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University says they're still considering those steps but want to send Dassey home to his mother as soon as possible. She says he's already been in prison for 4,132 days.

Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 in photographer Teresa Halbach's death two years earlier. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family's Manitowoc County salvage yard.

Center director Steven Drizin says the ruling provides a model for the kind of analysis that courts should undertake in assessing whether a confession was voluntary. He says that while the interrogators' tactics might not have overwhelmed a seasoned criminal or a lawyer, they clearly broke an intellectually limited 16-year-old.

“Brendan has sought justice for more than a decade; and today, we find ourselves a significant step closer to achieving that justice,” the statement continued.

Dassey, now 27, has remained in prison pending the appeal.

The state has 90 days to decide whether or not to retry Dassey.

Avery was sentenced to life in prison in a separate trial. He's pursuing his own appeal.