“Making A Murderer” set the world on fire when it was introduced as a Netflix exclusive 2015. The docu-drama made amateur sleuths of us all, as we dissected (with Netflix’s help) the case of photographer Teresa Halbach, who was said to have been sexually assaulted and murdered by Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.
The doubt was bolstered by Avery’s previous wrongful conviction when in 1985 he was convicted of the attempted murder and sexual assault of affluent jogger Penny Ann Beernstein. He served 18 years of a 32-year sentence before he was exonerated by DNA evidence, which proved a man named Gregory Allen was the real assailant.
Since, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department has come under intense scrutiny by fans of the show. The fervor caused by the show cast a glaring spotlight, and eventually Dassey’s teenage confession was overturned citing coercion.
Now, a year after the show and 10 years after he was convicted, Brendan Dassey is walking out of jail a free man. A federal judge in Wisconsin has set Dassey free under supervision. He was supposed to be let go in 90 days unless the state stepped in for an immediate retrial.
What happens now is up to the same justice system that found him guilty, to begin with. With the state set to retry the case, he could be back in prison before long. But, for now, he’s free to head home a decade after his blockbuster case. His uncle, Steven Avery, remains in prison serving a life sentence without parole.
