A US judge has ordered that Brendan Dassey be released from jail immediately
The Wisconsin man, whose case featured on Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, was jailed for the killing of Theresa Halback in 2007 alongside his uncle Steven Avery.
Dassey, who was 16 at the time, is 10 years into a life sentence for murdering the photographer whose charred remains were discovered on Avery’s land.
But back in August a federal magistrate ruled that Dassey, who was then a minor, had been tricked into confessing to the rape, murder and mutilation of Halbach to police officers in an interview.
The judge overturned the conviction on the basis that his confession was involuntary due to a parent or adult not being present with him in the police interview alongside his below-average intelligence.
https://twitter.com/TMJ4Steve/status/798238306278510592
Officers also misled Dassey about the consequences of the confession after reportedly promising him leniency, according to the Daily Mail,
Avery’s lawyer Kathleen Zellner tweeted that Dassey, who turned 26 recently, was set to be released today pending appeal.
https://twitter.com/ZellnerLaw/status/798244323234037760
He was expected to be released from jail unless prosecutors made an appeal or decided to retry him over the murder.
The judge who sealed Dassey’s release ordered him not to make contact with Halbach’s family or Avery and he is banned from obtaining firearms or controlled substances.
Avery’s case is progressing too after Zellner she secured the right to carry out new tests which she believes could prove his innocence.
She tweeted that she had reached an ‘Agreed Order’ on her request to gain access DNA evidence from the crime scene
The agreement basically means that Zellner and the Manitowoc have come to an accord about which crime scene evidence can be accessed and which new tests can be carried out.
Zellner believes that advancements in forensic techniques over the past decade might throw up exonerating evidence that Avery was framed for murder with planted evidence, which the lawyer suspects may be the case.
According to the Independent, she has filed for access to test Halbach’s spare car key, which was found at Avery’s home, parts of the car which had Avery’s DNA on and also purple underwear discovered at his scrap yard.
Agreed Testing Order entered on Monday for Steven Avery. #MakingAMurderer
— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) November 12, 2016
