Brendan Dassey of 'Making a Murderer' Will Remain in Jail After All

Brendan Dassey, scheduled for release Friday, must now remain in custody during the appeals process.

November 17, 2016

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original
Complex Original

The release of Making a Murderer subject Brendan Dassey has hit yet another roadblock. The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Dassey will remain in prison during the state's appeal, the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribunereported. Dassey, whose uncle is Steven Avery, had previously been scheduled to be freed no later than Friday, Nov. 18.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin ruled against the state's stay motion Wednesday, with WISC-TVreporting the decision was made in response to the "rearguing" of previously presented points. "The court finds that reconsideration of these arguments yields the same conclusion," Duffin said at the time of his initial ruling.

The last-minute block of Dassey's release wasn't a shock to Kathleen Zellner, Avery's attorney:

Dassey's conviction, stemming from the 2005 death of Teresa Halbach, was first overturned back in August when attorneys argued it had been coerced by local authorities. In a joint statement to Complex following the initial news of Dassey's overturned conviction, Making a Murderer filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos revealed they had every intention of continuing to follow Dassey and Avery's story.

"Today there was a major development for the subjects in our story and this recent news shows the criminal justice system at work," Ricciardi and Demos told Complex at the time. "As we have done for the past 10 years, we will continue to document the story as it unfolds, and follow it wherever it may lead."