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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Supreme Court declining to take Brendan Dassey's case (all times local):
12 p.m.
The attorney representing an inmate featured in the "Making a Murderer" series is vowing to keep fighting for him after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take his case.
Brendan Dassey's attorneys contend investigators coerced him into falsely confessing that he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. Dassey was 16 at the time. He was sentenced to life in 2007.
A federal judge overturned his conviction in 2016 but a federal appellate court upheld it. The Supreme Court on Monday decided not to review the case, leaving Dassey in prison.
His attorney, Laura Nirider, said in a statement that investigators lied to Dassey and fed him facts that fit their theory of the crime, confusing him. She promised to continue to fight for Dassey and other children who have been wrongfully convicted due to coercive interrogation tactics.
She could still get Dassey a new trial but she'd have to convince a judge that they have new evidence that warrants one.
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11:35 a.m.
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says he's pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to consider whether an inmate featured in the Netflix "Making a Murderer" series should be released from prison.
Brendan Dassey's lawyers have been arguing for years that investigators coerced him into falsely confessing that he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005.
Dassey was 16 at the time. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2007.
A federal judge overturned Dassey's conviction in 2016, but the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it. The Supreme Court on Monday decided not to take the case without any explanation.
Schimel says he hopes Halbach's family can find comfort in knowing "this ordeal" has finally ended.
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9:35 a.m.
The Supreme Court is declining to weigh in on the case of a teenager convicted of rape and murder and featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer."
The Supreme Court's decision Monday not to take the case leaves in place a lower court ruling against Brendan Dassey.
Dassey was 16 years old when he confessed to Wisconsin authorities that he'd joined his uncle in raping and killing photographer Teresa Halbach before burning her body in a bonfire in 2005. Dassey's attorneys say he's borderline intellectually disabled and was pressured into a false confession. They wanted his confession thrown out and a new trial.
Dassey's attorneys can still try to get him a new trial but they'd have to convince a judge that newly discovered evidence warrants one.
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