Brendan Dassey, the subject of Netflix's Making A Murderer docuseries has been denied clemency in his latest petition to the state of Wisconsin.
The 30-year-old was convicted to life in prison in 2007 at the age of 17 when he was found guilty of helping his uncle murder and sexually assault 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach. At 26, his case was at the center of the Netflix series which shone a new light on his controversial conviction.
In April, Dassey penned a letter to Governor Tony Evers, requesting a pardon. However, in a recent letter dated December 17th, Evers expressed that he would not grant a pardon or seek any commutation on Dassey's sentence, listing two reasons for his ineligibility: because it had not been at least five years since he completed his sentence and because he has not registered as a sex offender, which he is required to do.
“Brendan Dassey has been imprisoned for 13 years based only on a false confession that is inconsistent with the known facts of the case, has been disproven by DNA and forensic evidence, and was immediately recanted,” said Dassey's attorneys, Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin, in a statement. "...We will continue to work, respectfully but relentlessly, towards the day when this governor recognizes in Brendan Dassey the gentle, cheerful, and worthy human being whom we have known for twelve years."