Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal Of Man Who Was Coerced Into Admitting Murder Role As Teen

Brendan Dassey, the teenager who was convicted of rape and murder as documented in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer," had his request for the Supreme Court to hear his case denied.

As is customary, the justices did not explain their decision declining to take the case. The justices' decision leaves in place a lower court ruling against Dassey.

Dassey was 16 years old when he confessed to Wisconsin authorities that he had joined his uncle in raping and murdering photographer Teresa Halbach before burning her body in a bonfire. Dassey's attorneys, however, say he's borderline intellectually disabled and was pressured into a false confession. They wanted his confession thrown out and a new trial.

Wisconsin officials had urged the Supreme Court not to take the case, telling the court it shouldn't second-guess Wisconsin courts' determination that Dassey's confession was voluntary. Prosecutors noted that Dassey's mother gave investigators permission to speak with him, that Dassey agreed as well and that during the interview investigators used only standard techniques such as adopting a sympathetic tone and encouraging honesty.

Dassey's attorneys can still try to get him a new trial but they'd have to convince a judge that newly discovered evidence warrants one.