Making A Murderer fans, prepare yourselves – you’re about to feel vindicated.
After spending a decade in prison for intentional homicide, Brendan Dassey is set to be released, Entertainment Tonight reports.
US magistrate judge William E. Duffin overturned the 26-year-old’s conviction for the 2005 murder of Theresa Halbach yesterday over doubt over the voluntary nature of his confession.
Watch: The Making A Murderer trailer. Post continues after video.
According to court documents, Duffin said investigators into Dassey’s case made “false promises” that coupled with “his age, intellectual deficit, and the absence of a supportive adult,” made his confession “involuntary.”
But, the Making a Murderer Prosecutor Ken Kratz told Meshel Laurie on the Nitty Gritty Committee podcast, it’s not over yet. Not by a long shot:
The ruling means prosecutors have 90 days to bring Dassey, who was one of the main subjects in the 2015 Netflix documentary series, to trial again or he will be released.
The theory that the 26-year-old’s confession may have been coerced by police was widely held by viewers after it was examined in the documentary, which brought a significant amount of public interest in Dassey and his uncle Steven Avery’s cases.
Image: Netflix
The 54-year-old remains in prison for the murder of Halbach but his attorney told WISN Avery he was "so happy" for Brendan.
"When an unbiased court reviews all of the new evidence we have, Steven will have his conviction overturned as well."
Listen to Rosie Waterland review Making a Murderer here:
Following the success of the 2015 original documentary, Netflix announced last month there would be a second season on the case of convicted murderer Avery and co-defendant Dassey that would follow "their respective investigative and legal teams challenge their convictions and the State fights to have the convictions and life sentences upheld."
While a release date has yet to be set, we can feel our detective senses tingling already.
BRING IT ON.
Meshel Laurie's full interview with prosecutor Ken Kratz is on the Nitty Gritty Committee podcast. Listen in itunes or here:
Image: Netflix