A US judge has ordered the immediate prison release of Brendan Dassey, whose case featured in Netflix’s Making a Murderer documentary.<\/p>\n
The Wisconsin man’s murder conviction was overturned this summer, however, prosecutors are appealing.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old, who has learning difficulties, and his uncle Steven Avery were convicted of murdering a young woman, Teresa Halbach, in 2005.<\/p>\n
Avery and Dassey, who was 16 at the time, were sentenced to life in prison.<\/p>\n
Judge William Duffin ordered that Dassey be freed from prison under supervision until the next steps in the case become clear, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.<\/p>\n
Under his release conditions, he must submit to the probation and parole office by midday on Tuesday the address where he plans to reside.<\/p>\n
Dassey also must not have any contact with Ms Halbach’s family, or co-defendant Avery, whose legal team hopes DNA evidence will clear him.<\/p>\n
Dassey’s lawyer, Steve Drizin, told the Associated Press he hoped he would be free in time to spend Thanksgiving with his family on 24 November.<\/p>\n
“That’s what I’m focused on right now, getting him home, getting him with his family and then helping him to re-integrate back into society while his appeal plays out,” Mr Drizin said.<\/p>\n
The same judge quashed Dassey’s conviction in August, ruling that investigators had made false promises by assuring him “he had nothing to worry about”.<\/p>\n
He confessed to helping Avery rape, kill and mutilate Ms Halbach.<\/p>\n
Wisconsin’s attorney general had asked that Dassey not be released pending the appeal.<\/p>\n
The case received wide attention after the release of the 10-part documentary Making a Murderer in December 2015.<\/p>\n
The filmmakers cast doubt on the legal process used to convict Dassey and Avery.<\/p>\n
Avery was accused and found guilty of murdering Ms Halbach, a photographer for Auto Trader Magazine.<\/p>\n
Her charred remains were found at Avery’s car salvage yard a week after she went there to photograph a minivan for sale.<\/p>\n
The documentary series focused on the conduct of law officials in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
They had been facing a huge financial penalty over an earlier case in which Avery was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years for sexual assault.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"