“Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey should be released while the government appeals his overturned conviction, according to papers filed Wednesday by Dassey’s attorneys.
The lawyers also note that Dassey has been working on his crochet skills.
In papers filed in federal court in Wisconsin, Dassey’s lawyers argue that Dassey — whose conviction was overturned by the court in August — is unlikely to be convicted in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach again; that he poses no flight risk; and that he has displayed good behavior during his decade in custody.
In August, federal magistrate judge William E. Duffin, granted Dassey’s writ for a petition of habeas corpus, finding that Dassey’s imprisonment was unlawful because his confession to the murder of Teresa Halbach was involuntary. Duffin gave the state 90 days to appeal the decision, after which Dassey would be released if the state did not act.
Earlier this month, attorney general Brad Schimel filed a notice of appeal, stating, “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.”
In Wednesday’s filings, attorneys for Dassey, now 26, contend, “The injury inflicted on Brendan Dassey by further detention — the continuing loss of the basic liberty enjoyed as a matter of right by every citizen of this country — is irreparable.”
They also claim that it’s in the public’s interest to release Dassey.
“In light of the Court’s well-justified doubts, responsibility for the Halbach murder cnn no longer be placed on the shoulders of Brendan Dassey,” the filings continue. “He is not the person who belongs in prison for this crime.”
The attorneys add that, in nearly a decade in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Dassey has only been hit with two disciplinary infractions, and that he has “never attempted escape, assaulted anyone or possessed any weapons in the facility.”
“He spends his days reading, engaging in correspondence with family and friends, listening to the radio, watching television and — recently — attempting to learn how to crochet a blanket.”
Dassey’s attorneys are suggesting that he stay in a family-owned trailer with his mother during the first three months of his release, after which he would move into an apartment and “begin participating in educational, vocational and therapeutic services.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.