Making a Murderer's Brendan Dassey ordered released from prison

published 14 November 2016

Brendan Dassey, the nephew to co-defendant Steven Avery whose murder case was profiled in Netflix's hit documentary series Making a Murderer, has been ordered released from prison by a federal judge. U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin issued the order Monday, outlining several conditions for Dassey's release, while Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel vowed to file a motion to stay the release order, NBC affiliate TMJ4 reports.

Per the order, Dassey can be released pending appeal provided he does not leave the court's Eastern District of Wisconsin; does not have any contact with Avery or the family of Teresa Halbach, the victim in the case; and does not obtain a passport or weapon. Dassey was convicted in 2007 at the age of 17 for first-degree murder and second-degree sexual assault in the Halbach case, and has so far served 10 years in prison for the crimes. In August, his convictions were overturned after his confession, given to investigators in 2006, was determined to be involuntary — a decision the state has appealed.

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Ricky Soberano is the social media editor at TheWeek.com. Her writing has appeared in Complex, Nylon, Gothamist, Maxim, and others. Previously she was the culture editor for The Stony Brook Press and contributing editor for The Odyssey. She has a B.A. in multidisciplinary studies in journalism and dance from Stony Brook University and an A.S. in dance from Queensborough Community College. She's lived in Brooklyn her whole life, eats too much ramen, and freelance models, and she enjoys writing about the undiscovered and underreported within the sphere of culture. Follow her on Twitter.