The Wisconsin Department of Justice has asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to deny Brendan Dassey's immediate release, or at least to keep Dassey behind bars until the full court rules on the state's appeal of Dassey's overturned conviction.
The state said it plans to appeal to the full court, and for the court to consider that Dassey was convicted of heinous crimes.
In a response filed Monday, the state said if the full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rules against it or does not take the case, it would consider asking the Supreme Court to review the case.
Brendan Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 in connection with Teresa Halbach's death. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill her.
A federal judge overturned his conviction last year, ruling investigators coerced Dassey into confessing.
A three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling last week, prompting Dassey's attorneys to seek his immediate release.
