Making a Murderer Subject Brendan Dassey’s Conviction Has Been Overturned

Brendan Dassey, who, along with his uncle Steven Avery, is the focus of Netflix’s hit true-crime docudrama, Making a Murderer, has been ordered to be released from prison.

Per TMZ, a Milwaukee federal judge has ruled that Dassey’s constitutional rights were violated when detectives questioned him without an adult present.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s John Diedrich reports that Dassey will go free in 90 days if the state does not retry him.

“Dassey’s borderline to below-average intellectual ability likely made him more susceptible to coercive pressures than a peer of higher intellect,” the judge said. He also called the actions of Len Kachinsky, Dassey’s first attorney, “indefensible.”

Dassey was just 17 years old when he and Avery were convicted for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

It seems absurd to even say, in light of what Dassey’s family has gone through all these years, but as a Making a Murderer viewer, this news brings with it a palpable sense of relief.

More info on Dassey’s story as it develops.