Brendan Ray Dassey (born October 19, 1989) is an American man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin who was convicted of being party, at age 16, to first-degree murder, mutilation of a corpse, and second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to life in prison, with the earliest possibility of parole in 2048. His videotaped interrogation and confession, which he recanted at trial, substantially contributed to his conviction. Parts were shown in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer (2015). The series examined the 2005-2007 investigation, prosecution and trials of Dassey and his uncle, Steven Avery, who were both convicted of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach on October 31, 2005.
In August 2016, federal magistrate William E. Duffin ruled that Dassey's confession had been coerced, overturned his conviction, and ordered him released the following month. In November, the state Justice Department appealed Duffin's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which blocked Dassey's release pending a hearing. In June 2017, the Seventh Circuit upheld the magistrate's decision to overturn Dassey's conviction, leaving the state with the options of appealing Duffin's ruling to the Supreme Court, dismissing the charges, or retrying him.
Video Brendan Dassey
Early life
Brendan Ray Dassey was born to Barbara and Peter Dassey in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. He has three brothers: Bryan, Bobby, and Blaine, and a half-brother, Brad. His parents had divorced, and Brendan lived with his mother and brothers on a large family property associated with her parents' Avery Salvage Yard. His maternal grandparents and uncles, including Steven Avery, also resided on the property.
At the time of his indictment, Dassey was a 16-year-old sophomore at Mishicot High School. With an IQ in the borderline deficiency range, he was enrolled in special education classes.
Dassey was described as a quiet, introverted young man with an interest in Wrestlemania, animals, and video games. Before this case, he had had no involvement with the criminal justice system.
Maps Brendan Dassey
Murder of Teresa Halbach
Photographer Teresa Halbach, born March 22, 1980, in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, was reported missing by her parents on November 3, 2005. Halbach, who had not been seen since October 31, resided next door to her parents in Calumet County. Halbach was known to have visited the Avery Salvage Yard in Manitowoc County on October 31, 2005.
On November 10, 2005, following the discovery of her Toyota RAV4 vehicle, Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel found the charred remains of Halbach on the Avery property. Her cell phone, license plates and car key were also recovered. On November 15, after Avery's blood was found in her vehicle, Avery was charged with the kidnapping and murder of Halbach, mutilation of a corpse, and illegal possession of a firearm.
During the investigation, Dassey, Avery's alibi, underwent a series of interrogations without counsel or parent present, in which investigators made false promises to Dassey. While being interrogated, Dassey confessed in detail to being a co-conspirator in the rape and murder of Halbach and the mutilation of her corpse. His confession was later described as "clearly involuntary in a constitutional sense" by a US magistrate judge.
He was arrested and charged on March 1, 2006, with being party to a first-degree homicide, sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. The special prosecutor Ken Kratz held a major press conference about the two cases, discussing the charges against Avery and Dassey, and reading verbatim elements of Dassey's confession. It was widely covered by TV and newspapers.
Dassey later recanted his confession in a letter to the trial judge. He said he got most of his ideas from a book.
Interrogation
Dassey was interrogated on four occasions over a 48-hour period, including three times in a 24-hour time frame with no legal representative, parent, or other adult present. Initially interviewed on November 6 at the family cabin in Crivitz, Dassey was interrogated via the Reid technique, which was developed to permit and encourage law enforcement officers to use tactics that pressure suspects to confess. Dassey had been clinically evaluated as being highly suggestible, which makes a suspect more compliant and can ultimately lead to improper interrogation outcomes such as false confessions.
Dassey recanted his confession and informed his defense counsel. He later charged that his first defense counsel collaborated with the prosecution to get Dassey to plead guilty in order to testify against Avery (which he never did). The defense counsel was replaced. The Netflix series Making a Murderer (2015), which chronicles the trials of Dassey and Avery, has generated global dialogue centered around wrongful convictions, coerced confessions, interrogation of minors, and criminal justice reform.
Trial
Dassey's first appointed lawyer was removed by the court on August 26, 2006, due to his decision not to appear with Brendan during the May 13 interrogation. He was replaced by two public defenders.
The Dassey trial began on April 16, 2007, with a jury from Dane County, Wisconsin. The trial lasted nine days, with a verdict delivered on April 25, 2007.
The jury deliberated for four hours, finding Dassey guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, rape and mutilation of a corpse. Though only 17 years old at the time, Dassey was tried and sentenced as an adult, and his intellectual limitations were ruled irrelevant. He was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 2048 and incarcerated at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.
Appeals
In January 2010, Dassey's attorneys entered a motion for retrial, which was denied in December by Judge Fox. Fox's ruling was affirmed by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in January 2013, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to review it.
In December 2015, Dassey's attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court for release or retrial, citing constitutional rights violations due to ineffective assistance of counsel and a coerced confession:
In August 2016, federal magistrate William E. Duffin ruled that Dassey's confession had been coerced, and was therefore involuntary and unconstitutional, and ordered him released. In November, the Wisconsin Justice Department appealed Duffin's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which blocked Dassey's release pending a hearing.
In June 2017, a panel of three Seventh Circuit judges upheld the magistrate's decision to overturn Dassey's conviction. On July 5th, the Wisconsin Department of Justice submitted a petition requesting a re-rehearing en banc--by the entire 7th Circuit panel.
On August 4th 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted the State of Wisconsin's request for an en banc hearing with oral arguments set for September 26th in Chicago before a full panel of sitting judges.
If the full panel affirms the June ruling, prosecutors will be left with the options of appealing to the Supreme Court, dismissing the charges, or retrying Dassey. Observers have noted that without the use of Dassey's confession--which, barring a Supreme Court reversal, would be inadmissible--it is unlikely that there is sufficient evidence to retry him.
Public response
The release of Making a Murderer in December 2015 generated a wide, international audience and was met with significant media attention. There were numerous discussions regarding the prosecution of criminal cases. Due to the unprecedented response to the Netflix docu-series, by July 2016 Making a Murderer 2 was in production, focusing on the post-conviction process for Dassey and his family. His conviction has been appealed through the state court system and a petition for habeas corpus was filed in federal court. Because of the nature of Dassey's interrogations, there have been calls for the exoneration of Dassey with petitions for his freedom and the implementation of the "Juvenile Interrogation Protection Law in Wisconsin", which would prohibit police from questioning minors without a lawyer present.
The United States Supreme Court describes a custodial interrogation as an interrogation where: "a reasonable person would have felt he or she was not at liberty to terminate the interrogation and leave." Even if a minor has the legal right to get up and walk out, the vast majority of minors would have no idea that they had that option. Therefore, it is reasonable to view any interrogation of a minor as a custodial interrogation. For these reasons the, "Juvenile Interrogation Protection Law in Wisconsin" should impose the following safeguards: Require that an attorney be present during any custodial interrogation of a minor. This should be viewed as a nonwaivable right. Require law enforcement to inform a minor before an interrogation begins that he or she could be charged as an adult based on information obtained during an interrogation. Wisconsin law currently falls short, as it only requires law enforcement to immediately attempt to notify the child's parent or guardian.
In December 2015, petitions were submitted for the investigation of the police officers who interrogated Dassey, and January 2016, on the federal government's We the People website. Rallies in support of the exoneration of Dassey were held in the United States, London, Manchester, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Supporters have been communicating with him via letters, and contributing to his prison commissary.
See also
- Innocence Project
References
External links
- Dassey v. Dittmann (ED Wis, No. 14-CV-1310, 12 August 2016). Grant of petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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