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True-life murder mysteries now dominate the schedules of both traditional television networks and more contemporary platforms like Netflix. From A&E's Cold Case Files to HBO's The Jinx to Netflix's Making a Murderer, audiences are equally enthralled and horrified by the crimes that these shows detail.1 This genre of television has sparked a dialogue broader than the traditional query of "Whodunnit?" The frenzy of debates and news coverage following the debut of Making a Murderer is a powerful example.2 This show, which will be discussed in detail below, presented evidence tending to exonerate Steven Avery of the murder of Teresa Halbach.3 The evidence offered and instances of police and prosecutorial misconduct brought to light by the show raised many concerns about the impartiality and efficiency of the justice system, the guilt of the parties involved, and the questionable tactics involved in procuring confessions.4 This Note will explore the latter issue by discussing the confession of Brendan Dassey, an alleged accomplice of Steven Avery, and reviewing the law on involuntary confessions and the interrogation of juveniles and individuals who are intellectually impaired. It will conclude by offering more appropriate interrogation tactics to be used in these situations. This Note contributes to the literature by focusing on a group that has been largely ignored in studies and scholarly work: juveniles with intellectual disabilities who make false confessions.
THE SHOW
Making a Murderer focuses on the life of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man charged with the rape and murder of a local woman, Teresa Halbach.5 Avery had several run-ins with the law prior to the incident, including a conviction for the attempted rape of another woman.6 Avery was later exonerated of this crime after DNA evidence cleared his name.7 Avery felt that his conviction was a result of corruption in his town's police department and widespread animus against his family.8 Avery and Making a Murderer allege that this same bias resulted in his being charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach.9 Halbach was a photographer in Avery's town of Manitowoc.10 She was last seen on Avery's property, where she had gone to take a picture of a car at his salvage yard.11 Following her disappearance, Avery was charged with Halbach's murder.12 The charges were based on traces of Avery's...