Brendan Dassey

File:Brendan Dassey.jpg

Brendan Dassey during his trial 16th -25th April 2007

Brendan Ray Dassey (born October 19, 1989) is an American man from Wisconsin who was 17 years and 6 months old when convicted of intentional homicide. His videotaped interrogation and confession, which was subsequently recanted, played a pivotal role in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. The series examined the 2007 trials of Dassey and Steven Avery, his uncle, who were both convicted of the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach on October 31, 2005.

Early life

Born to parents Barbara and Peter Dassey, Brendan Dassey grew up in Mishicot, Wisconsin with brothers, Bryan, Bobby and Blaine Dassey. Dassey had been a sophomore at Mishicot High School and was enrolled in special education classes with an IQ evaluation in the low 70s, which classified him as borderline to below average intelligence. Dassey had no previous involvement with the criminal justice system and was described as a quiet, introverted young man with an interest in Wrestlemania, animals, and video games.

Teresa Halbach case

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 visited the Avery Salvage Yard in Manitowoc County on October 31, 2005. On November 10, 2005, Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel announced that the charred remains of Halbach were discovered on the Avery property, as was her Toyota RAV4 vehicle, cell phone, car key, and license plates. On November 15, Avery was charged with the murder of Halbach, mutilation of a corpse, and illegal possession of a firearm after Avery's blood was found in her vehicle. Avery's defense team argued that the evidence was planted and that Avery was framed by the Manitowoc County Sheriffs Department in retaliation for a $36 million lawsuit that Avery initiated as the result of an earlier wrongful conviction. Depositions in the lawsuit had taken place at the end of September 2005. After a series of interrogations, Dassey, who was also Avery's alibi, confessed to being a co-conspirator in the rape and murder of Halbach and was arrested and charged on March 3, 2006 with being party to a first-degree homicide, sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. Dassey later recanted his confession in a letter to the trial judge.

Halbach's death certificate was released to the public in 2016, raising questions surrounding the timeline of events as documented by authorities.

Interrogation

In the absence of an attorney, Dassey was interrogated on four occasions over a 48-hour period, including three times in a 24-hour time frame with no legal representation, parent or other adult present. Initially interviewed on November 6 at the family cabin in Crivitz, Dassey was interrogated via the Reid technique. His constitutional right to a competent legal defense forms the basis of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, now pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Dassey recanted his confession and informed his defense counsel. The Netflix series Making a Murderer, which chronicles the trials of Dassey and Avery, has created global dialogue centered around wrongful convictions, coerced confessions, interrogation of minors, and criminal justice reform.

Dassey's right to effective counsel is addressed in the habeas corpus petition written by Laura Nirider as follows:

Petitioner Brendan Dassey is in custody pursuant to a state-court judgment of conviction. His conviction, sentence, and confinement are unlawful and were unconstitutionally obtained in violation of his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. In particular, this federal habeas petition asserts two claims. The first claim asserts that Brendan Dassey’s Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel was violated when his pre-trial attorney breached his duty of loyalty by working with the prosecution to secure Brendan’s conviction. The second claim asserts that Brendan’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process were violated by the admission of his involuntary confession.

Reid technique

Main article: Reid technique

Developed to permit and encourage law enforcement officers to use tactics that pressure suspects to confess, the Reid technique isolates individuals from family in small interrogation rooms where they are repeatedly accused of committing a crime. According to Tom Geraghty (NITA Trustee), when the technique is used against vulnerable suspects whose youth and cognitive disabilities make them an easy target, it will result in a false confession. Dassey was clinically evaluated as being highly suggestible, which makes a suspect more compliant and ultimately leads to improper interrogation outcomes.

Trial

Dassey's initial lawyer was removed by the court on August 26, 2006, and replaced with two public defenders.

Dassey stood trial 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, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. Dassey was tried and sentenced as an adult; his age and intellectual limitations were not a factor in this process. Dassey, at the age of 17 years and 6 months, was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 2048. Dassey is incarcerated at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.

Appeals

• January 15, 2010: Dassey's post-conviction motion was brought underway with appellate representation by Steven Drizin, Laura Nirider, and Robert Dvorak.
• December 13, 2010: Judge Fox denied Dassey's motion for a retrial.
• January 30, 2013: Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld Judge Fox's decision.
• August 1, 2013: Wisconsin Supreme Court denied Dassey's request to review his case.
• October 20, 2014: Petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed in federal court by Laura Nirider.
• May 4, 2015: Petition was opposed by Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel.

A habeas corpus petition now sits with William E. Duffin, a federal magistrate from the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The petition was filed on October 20, 2014 by Laura Nirider of the Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University School of Law and Robert Dvorak, of Halling & Cayo, Milwaukee as counsel for Dassey.

Public response

The release of Making a Murderer in December 2015 has been met with significant media attention, as well as discussion regarding the prosecution of criminal cases. 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 "Brendan Dassey's Law", 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, Brendan Dassey's Law 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.

Petitions were submitted for the investigation of the police officers who interrogated him, in December 2015 and January 2016, on the federal government's We The People website. Rallies were held in support of the exoneration of Dassey, with one taking place in London on April 2, 2016 led by the actress Miriam Margolyes and prison rights activist Shaun Attwood, followed by Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in Australia on May 30, 2016 and Manchester in the UK and in the United States on June 11, 2016. Supporters have been communicating with him via letters, and contributing to his prison commissary.

See also

• Innocence Project