Judge Overturns Conviction Of 'Making A Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey

Judge Overturns Conviction Of 'Making A Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey Enlarge this image toggle caption Morry Gash/Associated Press Morry Gash/Associated Press A federal judge in Wisconsin has overturned the conviction of Brendan Dassey, who was found guilty of helping his uncle kill a young woman in 2005. Over the course of a three-hour period of questioning, "generally responding to the investigators' questions with answers of just a few hushed words, a story evolved whereby in its final iteration Dassey implicated himself in the rape, murder and mutilation of Teresa Halbach," according to the judge's decision. The decision adds that Dassey's "borderline to below average intellectual ability likely made him more susceptible to coercive pressures than a peer of higher intellect." Sponsor Message Here's how the judge's decision summed up his assessment that the confession was involuntary: "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.