‘Making a Murderer': Nancy Grace Thinks Brendan Dassey Belongs in Prison

Nancy Grace is not happy that “Making a Murderer” subject Brendan Dassey had his conviction overturned last week.

Grace had Ken Kratz, the former district attorney of Calumet County, Wisconsin, who prosecuted Dassey, on her show Monday night and they share the opinion that U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin was incorrect when he ruled that police used improper methods to get information from Dassey during videotaped interrogations.

“I say nothing was wrong [with the interrogation],” Grace said.

Also Read: Why 'Making a Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey's Homicide Conviction Was Overturned

A clearly annoyed Grace repeatedly asked prominent criminal defense attorney David Bruno, who was also a guest, to explain what was wrong with the videotaped confession.

“He’s 16 years old. He was repeatedly told he had the right to have a lawyer. His mother is waiting in the next room. She was asked to come in. She chose not to come in,” Grace said. “His lawyer knows he’s there and sent a representative from the law firm … he was repeatedly told he had the right to remain silent and he could have a lawyer with him.”

Grace continued: “He, also, is not mentally ill. His IQ is in the average range.”

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Brendan Dassey's Former Lawyer Speaks Out on Conviction Being Overturned

Bruno said that the “totality of the circumstances” helped coerce the confession, but Katz didn’t agree and shot down the theory.

“Telling the truth or imploring somebody to tell the truth is not the same as making promises, or making inducements, or threatening them,” Kratz said.

Nine years after Dassey and his uncle, Steven Avery, were found guilty in the murder of Teresa Halbach, Dassey’s conviction was overturned last Friday. Judge Duffin granted Dassey’s writ for a petition of habeas corpus, finding that his imprisonment was unlawful because his confession to the murder was involuntary. In reaching that decision, Duffin wrote that the “misconduct” of Len Kachinsky, Dassey’s court-appointed attorney, was “indefensible.”

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Would Brendan Dassey's Conviction Have Been Overturned Without the Series?

“Making a Murderer,” which has been a hit since it debuted last December on Netflix, suggested that Kachinsky made a deal that put his client behind bars when he should have tried to prove Dassey’s innocence.

Grace declined TheWrap’s request for additional comment through an HLN spokesperson.

Grace is leaving HLN after 12 years when her current contract expires in October. She became an ardent advocate for victims’ rights after her fiancé was murdered in 1979. Grace spent a decade serving as a prosecutor in Atlanta before turning to a career as a TV legal analyst.

'Making A Murderer': Brendan Dassey's Road to Release (Photos)

• Nine months after the release of "Making A Murderer," Brendan Dassey's conviction in the rape and murder of Teresa Halbach has been overturned. TheWrap looks back on the 11-year murder case that has captured America's attention and how Dassey ended up in prison with his uncle, Steven Avery.

• Oct. 31, 2005: Teresa Halbach, a photographer in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, goes missing after taking pictures of a car at Steven Avery's salvage yard. The next day, 16-year-old Brendan Dassey is questioned by county investigators. Dassey claims he had no contact with Halbach.

• February 2006: Detectives Mark Wiegert and Tom Fassbender are told by Dassey's cousin, Kayla Avery, that Dassey had been "acting up lately." The detectives go to Dassey's high school and take him out of class for questioning.

• March 1, 2006: Brendan Dassey is arrested for the murder of Teresa Halbach following an interrogation by police that resulted in Dassey giving a videotaped confession. A lawyer was not present during the questioning, and Dassey later told his mother that the investigators "got into his head." Two days later, he is charged with first degree murder, sexual assault and corpse mutilation

• May 2006: A judge rules that Dassey's videotaped confession is admissible as evidence. That same day, his attorney, Len Kachinsky, arranges for his investigator, Michael O'Kelly, to meet with Dassey to convince him to confirm his confession and explain how the murder took place. Earlier emails showed Kachinsky explaining to O'Kelly that he sought to use Dassey to convict Avery. The following day, Wiegert and Fassbender question Dassey again without an attorney present.

• June 2006: Dassey writes a letter to Judge Jerome Fox recanting his confession. Fox had previously declined Dassey's request for a new court-provided attorney, but after discovering that Kachinsky had allowed Dassey to be questioned by Wiegert and Fassbender alone, Fox removed Kachinsky from the case.

• Feb.-Mar. 2007: Avery is tried and convicted of first degree murder. Dassey is not called as a witness during Avery's trial. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

• April 2007: Brendan Dassey is tried and convicted on all counts and sentenced to 41 years to life in prison.

• 2010: Dassey requests a new trial on the grounds that his confession was made possible by Kachinsky and that the lawyer did not have his client's best interests in mind. His motion is denied.

• 2013: Dassey's request for a new trial and for a review of the original ruling are denied by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

• October 2014: Lawyers from the Northwestern University School of Law file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on Dassey's behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The petition is meant to request a federal judge to investigate the legality of Dassey's arrest and conviction.

• December 2015: Netflix releases "Making A Murderer," bringing national attention to the Halbach murder case. A few days after the release, legal briefs are filed for Dassey's petition.

• Aug. 12, 2016: U.S. Magistrate William E. Duffin overturns Brendan Dassey's conviction. In a 91-page ruling, Dassey ruled that the questioning that led to Dassey's confession was in violation of his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Duffin also noted that Dassey was a learning-disabled high school student at the time of his confession, and that investigators made promises of leniency to Dassey that were not kept.

Previous Slide Next Slide

1 of 13

After nine years in prison, the Netfllix docu-series subject may soon be set free

Nine months after the release of "Making A Murderer," Brendan Dassey's conviction in the rape and murder of Teresa Halbach has been overturned. TheWrap looks back on the 11-year murder case that has captured America's attention and how Dassey ended up in prison with his uncle, Steven Avery.

View In Gallery

Related stories from TheWrap:

'Making a Murderer': Brendan Dassey's Former Lawyer Speaks Out on Conviction Being Overturned

'Making a Murderer': Would Brendan Dassey's Conviction Have Been Overturned Without the Series?

Lawyers: Brendan Dassey of 'Making a Murderer' Could Sue for Millions