A federal judge in Milwaukee has overturned the conviction for Brendan Dassey, the young man whose case was closely documented in the Netflix series Making a Murderer.
Dassey was convicted, along with his uncle Steven Avery, of the 2005 murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach. In 2007, he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 41 years.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Milwaukee federal Magistrate William Duffin has overturned the conviction.
According to court documents, a judge ordered that Dassey should be "released from custody unless, within 90 days of the date of this decision, the State initiates proceedings to retry him."
The judge further ordered that "in the event the respondent appeals this judgement, this judgement will be stayed pending resolution of that appeal."
Brendan Dassey was just 17-years-old when he went to jail
Dassey's trial lasted 9 days and on April 25, 2007, he was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault and mutilation of a corpse.
At the time, Brendan was six months shy of being 18-years-old, but was both tried and sentenced as an adult.
The 26-year-old is now in the Columbia Correctional Facility, where he was recently transferred to from the Green Bay Correctional Facility.
His uncle Steven Avery, 54, is still behind bars at the Waupan Correctional Institution in Wisconsin where he's serving a life sentence for the murder.
Steven Avery (above) is still behind bars
The documentary series outlined numerous alleged flaws in the case against him and prompted demands for judicial review.
It was recently announced that Steven Avery's previous defence lawyers, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting will return to Ireland to give a number of public talks on failures in the US criminal justice system.
Fans will get their own chance to hear the lawyers when they appear at the Cork Opera House on September 22, in Vicar Street in Dublin on September 24, and the Black Box in Galway on September 25.
BREAKING: Brendan #Dassey conviction overturned by federal judge in #Milwaukee #Halbach murder #Makingofamurderer
— John Diedrich (@john_diedrich) August 12, 2016
Dassey goes free in 90 days if state does not refile #makingofamurderer
— John Diedrich (@john_diedrich) August 12, 2016
Judge: Repeated false promises ... Dassey's age, intellectual deficits ..absence ofsupportive adult, rendered confession involuntary
— John Diedrich (@john_diedrich) August 12, 2016
Fed judge calls conduct by #Dassey attorney's, Kachinsky, "indefensible" #MakingAMurderer
— John Diedrich (@john_diedrich) August 12, 2016
