Netflix's new hit docuseries "Making a Murderer" has made Steven Avery a household name. The series documented the trial and conviction of Avery, a Manitowoc County, Wisc., resident who was wrongfully accused and convicted of raping a woman in 1985, then exonerated after serving 18 years in prison - only to be released, then accused and convicted of the 2006 rape, murder and mutilation of area photographer Teresa Halbach.
Avery has maintained that he is innocent of the crime and suggested that evidence was planted against him by local law enforcement officials in retaliation to the $36 million lawsuit he brought against the county for his previous incarceration, and he currently serving out a life sentence in connection to Halbach's murder.
But Avery's nephew, 26-year-old Brendan Dassey, is also serving a life sentence in prison after he confessed to helping his uncle Avery carry out the gruesome crime. A White House petition to free Avery reached enough signatures to require a response from the White House, as previously reported by HNGN, and Dassey is also struggling to win back his freedom.
Here are five facts about Dassey's case and what steps are being taken now to help him appeal his life sentence.
1. Dassey's confession seemed coerced.
Dassey, who was 16 years old at the time, was pulled out of school in March 2006 and interrogated for four hours by investigators Tom Fassbender and Mark Wiegert, People reported. Dassey's mother and attorney were both not present during the questioning and the full confession video is available online in three parts.
Upon viewing, many believe that the teen was coerced into confessing to helping his uncle Avery in the rape, murder and burning of Halbach's body and the teen was led by investigators to confess to the crime - a confession that the teen later recanted in court. At the end of the questioning session, the teen told his mother, "They got in my head." He was arrest shortly after the confession.
2. Dassey's original defense attorney was dismissed.
Attorney Len Kachinsky held a press conference after obtaining Dassey's interrogation and released details of the teen's confession, according to People, and former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz has said he regretted that the press conference ever happened.
Kachinsky then allowed Dassey to be questioned once more without his presence, this time hiring investigator Michael O'Kelly to administer a polygraph test for the teen, and the results were inconclusive, according to Gazette Review. O'Kelly then interviewed Dassey again in May 2006, without Kachinsky's presence, and was able to obtain a written confession from Dassey after telling him that his polygraph results proved that he was lying about his involvement with Halbach's murder. Because of Kachinksy allowed his client to be interviewed without him present, he was accused of working against his client and Judge Jerome Fox dismissed Kachinsky. Dassey was represented by Ray Edelstein and Mark Fremgen during his trial, after which he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
3. Dassey's low IQ could have led him to confess.
At the time of his interrogation and trial, Dassey's IQ ranged between 69-70, according to Vulture. The teen's low IQ placed him right around the cut-off of "intellectual disability," which means that the teen might not have had the mental capacity to fully understand what would happen to him after he confessed to helping Avery with Halbach's murder.
4. Northwestern University School of Law attorneys are helping Dassey with his appeal.
Prior to Dassey's case, Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law had worked together to enact a law that stated every interrogation involving a juvenile should be videotaped, Esquire reported. Dassey's interrogation was the first to take place after the law was enacted and upon viewing the full four hour tape (as reported above) Nirider and Drizin felt compelled to help Dassey.
They filed two habeas corpus claims, one on the count that Dassey was coerced into confession to the crime and one in relation to Kachinsky, who violated the teen's right to a loyal attorney.
5. His federal habeas corpus petition is pending in Milwaukee federal court.
Dassey's petition is currently pending review before Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin as of Jan. 6, 2016, local paper Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported. The petition asked that Dassey be released from prison and also requested that his case be reviewed to investigate whether he was wrongly convicted.
No date is set for the petition's review, but a Twitter handle under Dassey's name and allegedly tweets on Dassey's behalf has posted an update on Jan. 4 and mentioned the review.
"Brendans case is going to be looked at by a federal judge who could appoint a retrial, release him or reject the petition," the tweet read, "fingers crossed!"
See the tweet below.
Brendans case is going to be looked at by a federal judge who could appoint a retrial, release him or reject the petition, fingers crossed!
— Brendan Dassey (@BDassey) January 4, 2016
