Dassey Retrial Hearing Day Two

The hearing for a request for retrial of Brendan Dassey continued on 19 January, 2010. Dassey was convicted in 2007 for the 2005 rape and murder of Teresa Halbach. Dassey’s uncle, Steven Avery, was convicted for the murder of Halbach.

Len Kachinsky continued his testimony. He claimed that if Dassey pleaded guilty, his sentence would have been half of what he received. But, Kachinsky did not testify that he had such an agreement with the prosecution.

In the 13 May, 2006, interrogation Wisconsin Special Investigator Tom Fassbender stated, “Mr. Kachin‑Kachinsky also told us that ah no promises were made to you on behalf of the state.” So it appears that there were no such expectations.

Kachinsky also testified that Dassey did not passionately deny his guilt. This was from an attempt by Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Tom Fallon to implicate that persons with flat affects must be guilty.

Kachinsky also testified that he thought the Miranda warnings were sufficient.

There were two interrogations on 27 February, 2006. The first, at Mishicot High School contained no identifiable statement of rights. Wisconsin Special Agent Tom Fassbnder said, “You’re free to go anytime you want. Ah, just listen to us, you really don’t have to answer any questions if you don’t want to and stuff like that, OK” and then shortly thereafter, “I want you to talk to us, talk about what you’re thinking about, feeling maybe.” The two interrogators than proceeded to badger and interrupt Dassey when he tried to tell them anything that was contrary to intent of getting a body into the bonfire of 31 October, 2005.

The second interrogation of the day took place at the Two Rivers, Wisconsin, police department. The Miranda as recited by Calumet County Investigator Mark Wiegert was straightforward except for, “You have this right to the advice and presence of a lawyer even though you cannot afford to hire one. We have no way of getting you a lawyerâ€¦” Essentially saying that the interrogators were not going do anything about his right to counsel.

The third interrogation on 1 March, 2006, had two warnings. The first was given in the car after the interrogators had Dassey removed from class by the principal. That warning was straightforward.

The second was given at the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department. Mark Wiegert said, “Um, I just wanted to go over this real quick again. Do you remember these rights, your Miranda Rights that I read to you?” Wiegert made no effort to have Dassey repeat the rights to show he remembered. In no instance, at any of the interrogations, did the investigatorâ€™s attempt to determine if the sixteen‑year‑old special education student understood by asking for a rephrasing of even one of the rights.

The Appleton Post~Crescent reporter John Lee wrote in an article dated 19 January, 2010 “Dasseyâ€™s mother rode with him in an investigatorâ€™s car when he was taken from the Two Rivers Police Department to the sheriffâ€™s department after his March1, 2006 statement when he first implicated himself in the homicide.” This is clearly erroneous. Dassey was arrested after the 1 March 2006 interrogation. And, this was not the first incriminating statement made by Dassey. Investigators did give Brendan, his brother, and his mother transport to a free night at the Fox Hill Resort from the Two Rivers Police Department on 27 February, 2006. And, turn out to be Trojan horse ploy.

Lee also wrote of the 13 May, 2006 interrogation, “â€¦ in gaps police had about the Halbach homicide and the actions of Dassey and Avery, who were subsequently convicted of the crime.” and “Dassey changed some of his earlier statements, giving more information on a burn barrel and pit where Halbachâ€™s remains were later found, saying he shot Halbach, and saying he watched Avery clean the knife that had been used to kill Halbach.”
â€¨Again this was erroneous. That interrogation was so disastrous that the State had it suppressed. Plus it was in the 1 March, 2006, interrogation that Wiegert told Dassey that Halbach had been shot.

The defense expert on false confessions, Dr. Richard Leo, testified about the coercion and leading by the interrogators. He pointed out that specific instances of this behavior needed to presented during the trial.

I had to wonder why some of the most obvious examples were not at least presented at trial. But, Dassey’s defense team inexplicably agreed to not show the recantation he made at the end of the 1 March, 2006, session. Did his attorneys even know that was there?

Fallon asked if this was a proven false confession. Dr. Leo said no.

But, since the physical evidence did not tie Dassey to the crime scene, this very likely false. And, the State claims that Dassey gave them unknown information. That has yet to be shown. My reading of the confession transcripts has investigators leading and in often telling Dassey information they later claimed was new.

Further, since the State committed its resources and reputation to incriminate Steven Avery it is unlikely that any reasonable attempt will from them to examine alternate perpetrators such as SB. The retrial request for Steven Avery also named alternate suspects that the State ignored in its zeal to cover the earlier false conviction of Avery.