Court rules confession stands in ‘Making a Murderer’ case
A federal appeals court in Chicago narrowly overturned a ruling Friday that could have freed a Wisconsin inmate featured in the “Making a Murderer” series from prison, though one dissenting judge called the case “a profound miscarriage of justice.”
The full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed Brendan Dassey’s claims that investigators tricked him into confessing that he took part in raping and killing photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. .
The 4-3 opinion came down to whether findings by Wisconsin state courts that Dassey wasn’t coerced into confessing were reasonable.
“The state courts’ finding that Dassey’s confession was voluntary was not beyond fair debate, but we conclude it was reasonable,” their 39-page ruling said.
But Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner disagreed. “I view this as a profound miscarriage of justice,” she wrote in her dissent.
A federal magistrate judge overturned Dassey’s conviction last year, ruling that detectives took advantage of Dassey’s youth — he was 16 at the time — and learning disabilities to coerce his confession. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit upheld the magistrate’s ruling in June.
But the state asked for a review by the full 7th Circuit. It wasn’t clear if Dassey’s attorneys would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dassey has remained in prison.