Wisconsin prison system Where is Brendan Dassey now?
Brendan Dassey gained a lot of sympathy – and his conviction generated world-wide outrage – from many viewers of the first Making a Murderer series on Netflix.
Unlike his uncle, Steven Avery, who was convicted of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach based on a pile of physical evidence (such as her bone fragments behind his trailer and his blood in her car), Dassey was convicted largely on his words. (You can see crime scene photos from the case here.)
His lengthy and videotaped confessions, without a lawyer or parent present, presented the foundation for Dassey’s appellate lawyers to seek his release. It actually looked like Dassey might see freedom again (he’s serving a life sentence with parole eligibility in 2048. Dassey’s date of birth is 10-19-1989, meaning he turns age 29 on the day Making a Murderer 2 premieres). But things didn’t work out for Brendan Dassey the way his supporters had hoped.
Dassey was convicted in 2007 in the rape and murder of Halbach. You can see his state court proceeding record here.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Federal Magistrate Judge Overturned Dassey’s Conviction
After being rejected by the Wisconsin appellate courts, Dassey filed an appeal in federal court, and things seemed to be going in his favor at first – in a dramatic way. The magistrate judge ruled that his conviction should be overturned. The magistrate had given the state 90 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling or Dassey would be freed.
The U.S. Magistrate judge, William Duffin found that Dassey’s cognitive state and promises from investigators made the confessions involuntary. He found that Dassey’s conviction was predicated on “false promises” by interrogators, and the judge cited “Dassey’s age and intellectual deficits” in the decision. In his 91-page decision, Duffin found that the “investigators’ actions amounted to deceptive interrogation tactics that overbore Dassey’s free will.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin. State Bar of Wisconsin.
“Especially when the investigators’ promises, assurances, and threats of negative consequences are assessed in conjunction with Dassey’s age, intellectual deficits, lack of experience in dealing with the police, the absence of a parent, and other relevant personal characteristics, the free will of a reasonable person in Dassey’s position would have been overborne,” wrote Duffin.
The case then went to an U.S. Court of Appeals panel for the 7th Circuit. They upheld the magistrate’s decision with a 2-1 ruling.
Dassey was cognitively slow and only 16 when he confessed on video in a series of sometimes contradictory but very detailed confessions. At times, the transcripts show, investigators appear to lead Dassey, but at other times, he offers very detailed information. Investigators did find spots of bleach on Dassey’s pants and alleged that Dassey helped Avery clean up his garage the night of the murder using bleach.
The state of Wisconsin appealed the magistrate’s decision. “We believe the magistrate judge’s decision that Brendan Dassey’s confession was coerced by investigators, and that no reasonable court could have concluded otherwise, is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law,” said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel in a news release. “Two state courts carefully examined the evidence and properly concluded that Brendan Dassey’s confession to sexually assaulting and murdering Teresa Halbach with his uncle, Steven Avery, was voluntary, and the investigators did not use constitutionally impermissible tactics.”
Calumet County Sheriff’s Investigator Mark Wiegert and Wisconsin Department of Justice Special Agent Tom Fassbender interrogated Dassey, who was a juvenile, without his parent or defense attorney present, the court decision says.
A Federal Appeals Panel Overturned the Magistrate Judge
The panel did not have the final say, however. The case then went before the full 7th Circuit appellate court for review. That court ruled 4-3 against Dassey, overturning the magistrate and upholding his conviction in an appeal that rested on the lawfulness of the law enforcement interrogations of him.
The full court relied on its belief that the underlying Wisconsin state appeals court – which had upheld Dassey’s conviction – acted reasonably in doing so. “The state courts’ finding that Dassey’s confession was voluntary was not beyond fair debate, but we conclude it was reasonable,” the court wrote.
The court also found: “Dassey spoke with the interrogators freely, after receiving and understanding Miranda warnings, and with his mother’s consent. The interrogation took place in a comfortable setting, without any physical coercion or intimidation, without even raised voices, and over a relatively brief time. Dassey provided many of the most damning details himself in response to open‐ended questions. On a number of occasions he resisted the interrogators’ strong suggestions on particular details. Also, the investigators made no specific promises of leniency.”
You can read the opinion in full here.
Dassey’s lawyer, Laura Nirider of Northwestern law school’s Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, said in a statement:
“The video of Brendan’s interrogation shows a confused boy who was manipulated by experienced police officers into accepting their story of how the murder of Teresa Halbach happened. These officers repeatedly assured him that everything would be ‘okay’ if he just told them what they wanted to hear and then fed him facts so that Brendan’s ‘confession’ fit their theory of the crime. By the end of the interrogation, Brendan was so confused that he actually thought he was going to return to school after confessing to murder.”
The U.S. Supreme Court Ended Dassey’s Quest for Freedom
YouTubeBrendan Dassey at trial.
In June 2018, the United States Supreme Court declined Dassey’s request to review the federal court’s decision reinstating his conviction. The Supreme Court did not provide a reason for its decision.
Dassey’s attorneys told the court that words “cannot adequately convey what transpired here; for that the court should review the video of Dassey’s interrogations. . . It can then draw its own conclusion about whether the interrogators improperly coerced a juvenile with significant intellectual and social limitations,” The Chicago Tribune reported.
Brendan Dassey Is Currently In a State of Wisconsin Prison
Brendan Dassey
Where was Brendan Dassey as the Netflix show premiered for Making a Murderer 2? He was in a Wisconsin prison – Columbia Correctional Institution, specifically. That prison is located in Portage, Wisconsin. The above photo is the most recent Wisconsin state prison system picture of Dassey. The Wisconsin Offender database gives this information for Brendan Dassey as of October 17, 2018:
DOC #: 00516985
Birth Year: 1989
Age: 28
Height: 5′ 10″ Weight: 197
Race: WHITE
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: BLUE
Sex: MALE
Dexterity: LEFT HANDED
PhotoDate: 03/24/2017
These are the movements between institutions listed for him:
01/20/2016 Received from another Facility Columbia Correctional Institution Green Bay Correctional Institution
01/20/2016 Transferred to Another Facility Green Bay Correctional Institution Columbia Correctional Institution
01/09/2010 Out to Court Green Bay Correctional Institution Manitowoc County Jail/Sheriff Dept.
12/18/2009 Transferred to Another Facility Dodge Correctional Institution Green Bay Correctional Institution
12/17/2009 Transferred to Another Facility Columbia Correctional Institution Dodge Correctional Institution
10/11/2007 Received from another Facility Columbia Correctional Institution Dodge Reception
10/11/2007 Transferred to Another Facility Dodge Reception Columbia Correctional Institution
08/07/2007 Admitted Inmate with New JOC Dodge Reception Unknown
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