The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Brendan Dassey's confession was not coerced, and has ruled for him to stay in prison.
Dassey's conviction stands and he will not get a new trial.
"The court of appeals reviewed the three-judge decision and reversed it, meaning that the decision to give Mr. Dassey a new trial has been reversed and the guilty verdict has been upheld," explained NBC26 legal expert Avi Berk.
The judges were sharply divided, voting 4 to 3.
Part of the ruling reads:
"The state courts' finding that Dassey's confession was voluntary was not beyond fair debate, but we conclude it was resonable. We reverse the grant of Dassey's petition for a writ of habeas corpus."
A federal judge overturned Dassey's conviction in 2016, saying investigators coerced his confession. Previously, a three-judge panel from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, but the state asked for a review by the full court.
After the decision from that full court, the only option left for Dassey is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, Berk explained.
"Unless the Supreme Court reverses this decision, it looks like it could be the end of the road for Brendan Dassey's appellate rights," Berk said.
Dassey is serving a life sentence for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005, along with his uncle Steven Avery. Their case was made famous in the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer.
This is a developing story. Stay with NBC26 for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
