On Monday, a Milwaukee-based judge ordered the supervised release of Making a Murderer's Brendan Dassey from prison pending a possible retrial for his 2007 convinction in the murder of Teresa Halbech, which was overturned in August. That said, when will Brendan Dassey be released from prison? As Variety reported Monday, there aren't any specifications just yet and it remains unclear whether he'll be released immediately or if the judge's ruling will be delayed due to the State of Wisconsin filing an appeal. It has already been announced by the Wisconsin Department of Justice that the state's Attorney General, Brad Schimel, is filing an emergemecy motion seeking a stay for Dassey's release order. Schimel announced his decision in a statement shared Monday on the Wisconsin DOJ website:
Today, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin granted a motion for release in the Brendan Dassey case. Attorney General Brad Schimel intends to file an emergency motion in the Seventh Circuit seeking a stay of this release order.
Update: On Wednesday, Nov. 16, it was announced that the judge ordered that Dassey be released by 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. The court rejected the state's emergency motion to keep Dassey in prison pending appeal.
Update 2: On Thursday, Nov. 17, the AP reported that federal appeals court blocked Dassey's release from prison.
Earlier: At this point, the timing of Dassey's release, or whether he's released at all, is dependent on the success of Schimel's motion for a stay of release.
Regarding the news about Dassey being granted release, his lawyer, Steven Drizin, confirmed his client's release on Twitter Monday by tweeting, "It's true. Judge Duffin granted Brendan's bond motion! More later. Someone from MAM nation will download order. I'm unable to for hours."
The judge's most recent ruling comes with many stipulations. According to court documents obtained by TheWrap, Dassey is not allowed to get a passport and can only travel in the court's Eastern District of Wisconsin. He also may not possess a gun, any other kind of weapon, or any type of controlled substances. The documents also state that "he may not violate any federal, state or local law and that Dassey must provide the address of his intended residence no later than Nov. 15." Per TheWrap, the court documents read, "Dassey has no criminal record other than this case. His prison disciplinary record is exceedingly benign … There is no hint of violent or antisocial behavior from his time in prison." The dcuments also state that the "court does not find that the respondent has a strong likelihood of appeal."
News of Dassey's prison release comes after it was announced in August that the same judge who ordered his release overturned his convinction, which was then appealed in September by Schimel.
At the time of his overturned conviction on Aug. 12, People obtained a copy of the court's decision which read,
The investigators repeatedly claimed to already know what happened on Oct. 31 and assured Dassey that he had nothing to worry about. These repeated false promises, when considered in conjunction with all relevant factors, most especially Dassey’s age, intellectual deficits, and the absence of a supportive adult, rendered Dassey’s confession involuntary under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
After the overturned conviction was appealed, it was reported that Dassey would remain in prison pending the ouctome of the appeal. Schimel released the following statement in September:
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. Two state courts carefully examined the evidence and properly concluded that Brendan Dassey’s confession to sexually assaulting and murdering Teresa Halbach with his uncle, Steven Avery, was voluntary, and the investigators did not use constitutionally impermissible tactics.
(Avery filed a motion to appeal his conviction in January.)
At the time of Dassey's convinction being overturned, Netflix told Bustle they didn't have a comment about his case. The Making a Murderer fillmakers released the following statement to Bustle:
Today there was a major development for the subjects in our story and this recent news shows the criminal justice system at work. 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.
Bustle has reached out to Netflix and the filmmaker's rep for comment on the news of Dassey's release, but has not yet received a response.
Image: Netflix
