Because of the media’s lash out after a true crime documentary, a young man will now be released from jail.

After years behind bars, one of the suspects highlighted in the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” has been set free. Brendan Dassey and his uncle, Steven Avery, were charged for the murder of a young photographer in 2005.

A crew heard the story of this small town murder mystery, and Dassey, who was 16 at the time, was originally questioned in order to find facts about his uncle’s involvement in the murder, but the interrogation quickly turned sour. Dassey was pulled out of class and into an office in his school where a cop was waiting for him. Dassey had an IQ that put him in the range for an intellectual disability and was a very shy kid. Unlike a normal interrogation of a minor, the police did not call a guardian or attorney to protect Dassey from incrimination. Without that protection, and through the long interview filled with coercion, Dassey cracked and began fabricating a false story.

The videotape of the interview shows the police telling Dassey they “knew what he did”. Panicking, Dassey started coming up with a story. Every time his story was not aligned with the actual clues, the police would tell Dassey he was “lying” and to tell them the truth. This would result in Dassey playing a crazy guessing game with the police. For example, Dassey guessed multiple times when the police asked what the murder weapon was until he correctly said what they wanted him to. Dassey’s confession was then used a big evidence to convict his uncle. Both were charged for murder and given life sentences.

When the creators of Making a Murderer came out, its audience was disgusted how blatantly Dassey was coerced by the cops. This caused many to sign the petitions, contact judges, and write to their state representatives; all in hopes to release Dassey and his uncle. In a bittersweet moment, only Dassey was released from jail, given the fact that the judge had ”significant doubts” in his confession.

When put under duress, it is common for a false statements to be spilled. Because of this, countries like United Kingdom have completely banned hard interviews. In the UK, they have many measures set in place to deter stress-induced false confessions. The most important measure is that the cops in the UK aren’t allowed to say they have made-up clues

(Where in the US they can).

Many see “Making a Murderer” as a light exposing the cracks in America’s criminal justice system, with Dassey and his uncle as perfect examples of people it can falsely charge. Supporters of the Dassey and the Avery family hope that the release of Dassey will soon result in the acquittal of both suspects.