Steven Avery Reacts To Brendan Dassey: ‘The Truth Is Coming Out’
Last week, Brendan Dassey received news that he’d been waiting on for years: His 2007 murder conviction was overturned. His uncle, Steven Avery, the centerpiece of the popular Netflix docu-series Making a Murderer, is hoping the truth will set them both free.
In an exclusive interview with In Touch, Avery, who remains behind bars serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach, said that not only is “the truth coming out,” but that he’d been expecting something like this to happen.
“I thought sooner or later [this day] would [come]. The truth is coming out…..”
Making a Murderer update! Steven Avery's lawyers now expect him to be freed:https://t.co/Ygdrun6KKm pic.twitter.com/Oh8sGR4pll
— Digital Spy (@digitalspy) August 17, 2016
Avery also touched on issues of being framed. Numerous internet sleuths have commented that some of the Wisconsin authorities in charge of investigating Halbach’s murder planted her car key in Avery’s room, among other items, in an attempt to set Avery up to take the fall. It’s something that his wrongful conviction lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, aims to prove without a doubt happened. Avery is hoping people understand that Dassey was also framed after investigators lied to the then-16-year-old, promising him a lesser sentence if he confessed.
“Yeah. Hopefully more people understand [that because of] the judge’s decision. He has seen through all of that.”
In an earlier interview with In Touch, Avery asserted confidence that he’d soon be free. He indicated that he was 1,000 percent sure of it.
Meanwhile, not everyone is happy that Dassey’s conviction was overturned, including Ken Kratz, who served as the prosecuting attorney in both Avery’s trial and Dassey’s trial. WBAY reports that Kratz stated he was surprised by the decision and feels that it was slanted.
https://t.co/HDhaeonXxU Slanted? Really? Is that the best you got?
— Steven A Drizin (@SDrizin) August 17, 2016
“Usually a suppression hearing that has already gone through all of the state courts, the circuit court level, the court of appeals and of course the Supreme Court decided not to even hear it, is so unusual for a federal court to weigh in on that.”
Kratz admitted that he feels “awkward and uncomfortable” sitting on the sidelines while waiting on news sites and stations to provide information about Dassey’s case. If he were still involved in the process of making decisions, he would without a doubt appeal the decision.
“Appeal the decision to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The reason I say that, is that it leaves the other three options open.”
So what does Dassey’s overturned conviction mean for Avery? According to the consensus of numerous legal experts, apparently not a whole lot. Avery’s case was based on evidence found at the crime scene, and until it’s 100 percent proven that the evidence was planted, the courts don’t yet have a reason to show his case was handled improperly.
Brendan Dassey's conviction was overturned, but what will it mean for #MakingAMurderer subject Steven Avery? https://t.co/S62es3wy06
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) August 15, 2016
Dassey’s case, on the other hand, was built off of a proven false confession. According to Marquette University Law School professor Michael O’Hear, there is nothing regarding Dassey’s situation “that really speaks to the case against Avery or suggests that there’s anything improper that was done in Avery’s case or any reason to doubt the validity of Avery’s conviction.”
“I think these two cases really need to be viewed as completely distinct from one another.”
Avery’s fate primarily lies in the hands of Zellner and the information she presents to the court this month, to help prove his innocence. The lawyer is confident and thinks that it’s only a matter of time before Avery’s conviction is reversed as well.
While speaking about Dassey’s recent news, Zellner expressed that it was an expected outcome, given that the evidence was presented to an “unbiased court.”
“We fully expected this outcome from an unbiased court that carefully examined his confession. I was just visiting Steven Avery, and he is so happy for Brendan. We know when an unbiased court reviews all of the new evidence we have, Steven will have his conviction overturned as well.”
[Image via Netflix]
