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EXCLUSIVE: "They've been waiting for 10 years" - Brendan Dassey's lawyer speaks out

A lawyer for US man Brendan Dassey - who had his conviction overturned after he was the subj...
Newstalk
Newstalk

14.30 16 Aug 2016


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EXCLUSIVE: "They&#...

EXCLUSIVE: "They've been waiting for 10 years" - Brendan Dassey's lawyer speaks out

Newstalk
Newstalk

14.30 16 Aug 2016


Share this article


A lawyer for US man Brendan Dassey - who had his conviction overturned after he was the subject of a Netflix documentary - says she does not know if the show made any difference.

Laura Nirider says there are three options for the state of Wisconsin against her now 26-year-old client: "It could release Brendan, which could happen anytime, second it could opt to re-try Brendan in which case it would have to initiate re-trial proceedings within 90 days."

"The third choice that it has would be to appeal Friday's ruling, in which case everything else gets put on hold," she told Newstalk Breakfast.

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Last Friday a federal judge overturned the conviction of Dassey for his part in the murder of a woman, Teresa Hallbach, in 2005.

Dassey's conviction 10 years ago proved controversial, not the least after it was featured on the documentary series "Making A Murderer".

He confessed to helping his uncle, Steven Avery, carry out the rape and murder of Ms Halbach in 2005 - charges that Avery denies.

Dassey was arrested when he was 16, but Ms Nirider says this new ruling proves his confession was coerced.

Image: Netflix

"What this court did was it scrutinised Brendan's interrogation, it scrutinised his confession, it scrutinised every word that was said to him and every word that came out of his mouth.

"It reached two conclusions: the first one was that Brendan's confession was coerced - it was involuntary...and that was the basis for the ruling.

"But...it didn't just find that this confession was coerced - the federal court also said that after reviewing the confession, it harboured significant doubts as to the reliability of Brendan Dassey's confession.

"Those are doubts that Brendan has been voicing for 10 years."

But Ms Nirider is not sure if the successful Netfix documentary even made a difference.

"I don't know if this judge has ever even seen 'Making a Murderer' - this decision was 91-pages long, this was an incredibly painstaking analysis of the record in this case, of the interrogation videos in this case, and that's what the court based it on.

"If anything, it may have made the judge be even more careful in his review of Brendan's case.

"One of the most important impacts of 'Making A Murderer' I think is to show the world that false confessions happen - it doesn't just happen to Brendan.

"It's just that Brendan happened to be featured in a Netflix series that made his story so well known," she added.


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