Still searching for answers after devouring the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer”? This is your night.
Attorneys for Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of the series, will take part in an editorial takeover of the Bustle app on Thursday night, at 8 p.m. ET.
Billed as “A Deep Dive Into Coerced Confessions & Wrongful Convictions,” the summit will also include Steven Drizin, the co-founder of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth.
Dassey, the nephew of “Making a Murderer” convict Steven Avery, was just 17 when he was convicted in connection with the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. He, along with Avery, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
An interview with authorities, in which Dassey described gruesome events surrounding Halbach’s murder, was a major sticking point for many “Making a Murderer” viewers. Dassey later retracted his statements.
Shortly after his conviction, Dassey told Wisconsin news outlet the Post-Crescent, “They just kept, like, asking the questions over and over until they got the answer [they wanted].” Some “Making a Murderer” viewers regarded Dassey as a not-particularly-bright teenager manipulated by authorities.
Avery, who has maintained his innocence in Halbach’s death, is currently making a bid for his freedom. While online petitions calling for his pardon were ultimately unsuccessful, he has retained a new attorney, Kathleen Zellner, who specializes in wrongful convictions. Zellner has cited “new evidence” in the case, and said that she is “confident that Mr. Avery’s conviction will be vacated.”
“We are continuing to examine every aspect of Mr. Avery’s case and all of his legal options,” Zellner said in a statement in January. “We are confident Mr. Avery’s conviction will be vacated when we present the new evidence and results of our work to the appropriate court.”