FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Making a Murderer’s Brendan Dassey denied pardon bid despite sending letter begging to go home
MAKING a Murderer's Brendan Dassey was denied a pardon bid despite sending a letter begging to go home.
The 30-year-old, who was convicted of rape and murder as a teen, was deemed ineligible for pardon by Wisconsin's governor Tony Evers.
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Evers said Dassey does not meet the "required eligibility conditions" for a pardon.
Dassey, along with his uncle Steven Avery, were sentenced to life behind bars over the killing of Photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005.
But the missing criteria is that Dassey has yet to complete his prison sentence and he's currently required to register as a sex offender.
'I WANT TO GO HOME'
Dassey's rejection comes nearly three months after he submitted a handwritten note to Evers.
It read: "I am writing to ask for a pardon because I am innocent and want to go home."
His attorney, Laura Nirider, also pushed for Dassey to be an exception and stated: "By his prison conduct and his gentle, patient insistence of his own innocence, Brendan has shown himself to be the rare person who is worthy of clemency."
But , dated Tuesday, stressed the governor won't be considering requests for commutation.
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The last Wisconsin governor to issue a prison commutation - which is when a sentence or penalty is changed or reduced - is Tommy Thompson, the longest serving governor in the state's history, who left office in 2001.
At just 16-years-old, Dassey was sentenced to life in prison, along with Avery for Halbach's murder.
MAKING A MURDERER
Their trials gained global attention after the release of Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, which cast doubt on the legal processes used to convict them.
Halbach disappeared in 2005, after visiting the Avery family salvage yard in Twin Rivers.
Dassey was initially interviewed as a witness in the investigation into his uncle.
But police contacted Brendan again after his cousin Kayla said he had discussed the murder with her.
In March 2006 he was arrested and charged with being party to first-degree murder, sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse, and was convicted in April 2007 after a nine-day trial.
CONFESSION
During interrogations by the police he confessed in detail to helping Avery carry out the rape, killing and dismemberment of Halbach.
Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle rape and murder her in the Avery family's salvage yard in Manitowoc County .
Avery was sentenced to life in a separate trial.
As a young man Dassey was reportedly a quiet introvert with learning difficulties and a below-average IQ.
Court documents said he had difficulties communicating, adding that he was interested in animals and video games.
At the time of the murder, he had no prior involvement with the criminal justice system.
His confession was used as the foundation of Dassey's trial, which lacked physical evidence linking him to the murder.
But in June 2006 he recanted his admission in a letter to the judge, claiming he had been coerced and that he had taken most of the ideas from a book. He never testified against Avery.
Dassey was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 2048.
The Netflix documentary brought global attention to Dassey and Avery as it challenged the legal processes in their convictions.
EXPLOSIVE TWIST
But a prison inmate reportedly confessed to the killing of Halbach in an explosive new twist back in September.
The Wisconsin prisoner is said to have admitted the notorious murder in a taped interview with the Netflix documentary crew's producers.
The confession could clear Avery and his nephew Dassey, who have both spent more than a decade behind bars for the 25-year-old's murder.
The director Shawn Rech reportedly said they cannot confirm the “legitimacy of the confession” until cops investigate it.
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He told : “Seeing as it was given by a notable convicted murderer from Wisconsin, we feel responsible to deliver any and all possible evidence to law enforcement and legal teams.”
His team, who have been in production for 20 months, claim to have discovered “unfathomable amount of information and evidence”, which will lead them to the truth.
Mr Rech added: "Our investigation does not end here.”
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