Procedure and Behavior in Making a Murderer

Procedure and Behavior in Making a Murderer

Episode 3, Making a Murderer

Procedure: Brendan Dassey was a sixteen-year-old, developmentally delayed/intellectually disabled boy at the time of his confession. What protections, at minimum, should have been provided to him prior to his being interviewed?

Brendan was entitled to be interrogated in the presence of his parents or guardian given he was a minor. In addition, he was intellectually disabled hence should have been examined by a qualified expert to determine if he had capacity to be interrogated upon which it could be done in presence of an adult (Rogal,2017).

Behavior: Did Brendan Dassey believe he was going home during the period of time he was being interviewed? How do you know, and why is this significant, if at all?

Brendan believed he was going home given the body language he displayed of being uncomfortable at the police station. The believe of going home may have influenced his statements. He may have wanted to finish up quickly so that he goes home hence summarizing his statements.

Episode 4, Making a Murderer

Procedure: Brendan Dassey’s case relied largely on his confession. Should Judge Fox have suppressed his confession? What legal reasoning, or other argument, would you use to support your opinion?

The judge should not have relied on Brenda’s confession. This is founded on the principle of concerned adult. Considering the susceptibility of juveniles and persons with mental disability, a concerned adult must be present before or during interrogation by police (Lapp, 2017). This is to ensure that the statements are not obtained using undue influence or   coerced from a minor.

Behavior: Why would Brendan Dassey’s own lawyer have his investigator interview Brendan without counsel? And why would the investigator tell Brendan he did a very bad thing, that if he wasn’t sorry, he couldn’t help him, and then require him to draw pictures and write out a statement of confession?

The lawyer felt that the investigator was best placed to ask the right questions to build the case as they desired. The investigator wanted to get an indirect confession from Brendan by having him be remorseful for his actions. By drawing and writing the confessions, there was documentation for future reference incase Brendan changed his mind.

Episode 6, Making a Murderer

Procedure: Should Lieutenant Lenk, from Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Dept., have been present at the search of the Avery property conducted four months after the initial searches, during which time shell casings and the RAV4 key were found? Why?

Lieutenant Lenk was playing a critical role in evidence collection to help prosecute the case. Given the importance of Averty property and evidence in successful presentation, it was important that the lead police be present to gain important clues essential to offer directions (Lal, Abidin, Garg & Deep, 2016).

Behavior: What were the state’s motivations (and/or what did the prosecutor indicate) for going back out to the Avery property four months after the initial search and doing additional searching? Is this important?

The prosecutor wanted to collect more evidence and align the prior case proceedings with what was at the house. It is important for police to collect all evidence they can from a crime scene to help prosecution of a case. There is an indispensable need to have evidence beyond reasonable doubt (Teichman, 2017).

References

Lal, D., Abidin, A., Garg, N., & Deep, V. (2016). Advanced Immediate Crime Reporting to                     Police in India. Procedia Computer Science, 85, 543-549.

Lapp, K. (2017). Taking Back Juvenile Confessions. UCLA L. Rev., 64, 902.

Rogal, L. (2017). Protecting persons with mental disabilities from making false confessions: the

Americans with disabilities act as a safeguard. NML Rev., 47, 64.

Teichman, D. (2017). Convicting with Reasonable Doubt: An Evidentiary Theory of Criminal

Law. Notre Dame L. Rev., 93, 757.