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Un-Making a Murderer: The Framing of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey
"Finally, an amazingly honest book that details exactly how my brother was set up" - Brad Dassey Innocent people do go to jail. Sometimes mistakes are made. But even more terrifying is when the authorities conspire to frame them. That's what happened to Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, who were convicted of murder and are serving life sentences. Un-Making a Murderer is an explosive book which uncovers the illegal, devious and covert tactics used by Wisconsin officials, - Concealing Other Suspects - Paying Expert Witnesses to Lie - Planting Evidence - Jury Tampering The art of framing innocent people has been in practice for centuries and will continue until the perpetrators are held accountable; turning conventional assumptions and beliefs in the justice system upside down, Un-Making a Murderer takes you on that journey. The profits from this book are going to Steven and Brendan and to donate free books to schools and prisons. In the last two years, Shaun Attwood has donated 15,000 books.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2017
576 people are currently reading
519 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Attwood
75 books355 followersIn prison, I read over 1000 books in just under six years, including many literary classics. Books were the lifeblood of my rehabilitation.
As told on National Geographic Channel's Locked-Up/Banged-Up Abroad episode "Raving Arizona," I used a tiny pencil sharpened on a cell door to write the first prison blog, Jon’s Jail Journal. My writing, smuggled out of the jail with the highest rate of death in America, run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, turned the international media spotlight on the human rights violations, including guards murdering mentally ill inmates, dead rats in the food, lack of medical care...
Raised in a small chemical-manufacturing town in northern England, I was the first from my family to go to university. As a penniless graduate, I took my business degree to Phoenix, and worked my way up to become a stock-market millionaire.
But I also led a double life. An early fan of the Manchester rave scene, I headed an organisation that threw raves and distributed Ecstasy. On May 16th 2002, a SWAT team knocked my door down.
Facing a life sentence, I entered a lengthy legal battle. After two years of being held unsentenced, I was convicted of drug offences. Sentenced to 9½ years, I served almost 6.
I had only read finance books prior to my arrest. While incarcerated, I submerged myself in literature. By studying original texts in psychology and philosophy, I sought to better understand myself and my past behaviour.
Released in December 2007, I continue to campaign against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I keep my blog, Jon’s Jail Journal, going by posting stories mailed to me by my prison friends.
In July 2008, I won a Koestler award for a short story, which I read to an audience at the Royal Festival Hall.
I presently live near London, and talk to schools across the UK about my jail experience and the consequences of getting involved in drugs and crime.
As told on National Geographic Channel's Locked-Up/Banged-Up Abroad episode "Raving Arizona," I used a tiny pencil sharpened on a cell door to write the first prison blog, Jon’s Jail Journal. My writing, smuggled out of the jail with the highest rate of death in America, run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, turned the international media spotlight on the human rights violations, including guards murdering mentally ill inmates, dead rats in the food, lack of medical care...
Raised in a small chemical-manufacturing town in northern England, I was the first from my family to go to university. As a penniless graduate, I took my business degree to Phoenix, and worked my way up to become a stock-market millionaire.
But I also led a double life. An early fan of the Manchester rave scene, I headed an organisation that threw raves and distributed Ecstasy. On May 16th 2002, a SWAT team knocked my door down.
Facing a life sentence, I entered a lengthy legal battle. After two years of being held unsentenced, I was convicted of drug offences. Sentenced to 9½ years, I served almost 6.
I had only read finance books prior to my arrest. While incarcerated, I submerged myself in literature. By studying original texts in psychology and philosophy, I sought to better understand myself and my past behaviour.
Released in December 2007, I continue to campaign against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I keep my blog, Jon’s Jail Journal, going by posting stories mailed to me by my prison friends.
In July 2008, I won a Koestler award for a short story, which I read to an audience at the Royal Festival Hall.
I presently live near London, and talk to schools across the UK about my jail experience and the consequences of getting involved in drugs and crime.
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April 22, 2017
The author has publicly admitted he didn't do research for this book and it is full of errors and lies. Check his twitter feed and reddit AMA. Some notable errors:
- He claims only one tooth was found in the burnpit and prosecution claimed Avery pulled out all of Teresa's teeth but one. This is 100% made up. 22 tooth fragments were found and prosecution claimed no such thing.
- He claims Brendan Dassey was promised he could just go home if he confessed to rape and murder. This is 100% made up, he's never told any such thing.
- He claims no suspects but Avery were investigated. 100% made up. Her prior Auto Trader appointment and recent ex were asked for alibis, and every adult on the Avery property submitted DNA and fingerprint samples.
- He claims there was a secret interview between Fassbender and Brendan in Crivitz. This is 100% made up. Fassbender was in Manitowoc during the time this made-up interview supposedly took place.
- He claims Brendan didn't "get to tell the jury" why he confessed. This is made up. Brendan testified in his trial.
- He claims it's "ludicrous" that the scene was bleached. This is a lie. Brendan testified in his trial to bleaching the garage (after recanting other parts of his confession), his bleach-stained jeans were collected, and his mother confirms he bleached the garage with Steven on 10/31.
- He claims the bullet found in Avery's garage couldn't be matched to his gun. 100% fabrication, the bullet was matched to the exact gun that hung over Avery's bed, and defense didn't present any expert that could refute that.
- He claims a judge ordered Manitowoc County to stay off the case. 100% fabrication, Manitowoc voluntarily ceded control to Calumet and no orders were ever given by anyone, let alone a judge, telling them to stay off.
- He claims bones and Teresa's phone were found in the same barrel. Shows how little research he did- they were found in different barrels.
- He claims the Manitowoc County coroner grabbed supplies and went to Avery's but was denied access. 100% fabrication, she never went to Avery's.
- He seems to think Ertl, a DCI investigator, was the Calumet County Coroner. Seriously, NO research went into this book!
- He just makes up that a body would take 16 hours to burn, while actual experiments show a body can be reduced to ash using only wood in less than 5 hours. Avery also used tires and a van seat, not just wood.
- He claims human bones were found in the quarry nearby. Not true, some "suspected possible human" bones were found that were never confirmed as human or matched to Teresa.
- It's impossible to summarize how little he understands science, but basically every time he tries to mention it he's wrong. He actually says 7 matching alleles in DNA testing "only proves the donor is a four-legged animal"! And says the FBI mtDNA test could "only" say Teresa couldn't be excluded- he has absolutely no idea what that means. They can "exclude" almost everyone on earth when testing DNA- when someone can "not be excluded" it means there's a one in millions or billions chance it's not them. He's wrong about the bone DNA testing, wrong about the bullet testing, wrong about mtDNA testing, and wrong about the EDTA testing.
- He says the burn pit was excavated with a skid loader that destroyed evidence. Total lie, it was excavated carefully using shovels and sifted through by hand, and the skid loader was only used after the pit was excavated to break up the hardened soil underneath.
- He claims Scott first said the fire was 3 feet then changed it to 10 feet- 100% lie created in the tv show by editing testimony. Scott never said the fire was only three feet, then changed it to 10.
- Somehow he claims in Avery's trial the prosecution didn't "pursue the story" that Teresa was shot in Avery's garage? I don't even know how he gets that- what does he think Avery was convicted for?
- He claims a bloodhound followed Teresa's scent from a trailer in a nearby deer camp. 100% fabrication, the bloodhound actually followed a scent from Avery's doorstep along the route Avery took to hide her car in the salvage yard.
- He claims 129 out of 130 potential jurors already thought Avery was guilty. He was asked in his AMA if he read jury voir dire interviews, where the chosen jurors all profess he is innocent until proven guilty and they don't trust the media is reporting the whole story, and of course said he did not and just kinda made that up by assuming the jurors all lied.
I could go on and on, but a good portion of the errors and fabrications are listed in his Reddit AMA and subsequent book review that I'd suggest googling. He lies and lies and lies. He's wrong about science, wrong about dates, wrong about names, wrong about who did what, wrong about evidence, wrong about everything. The majority of this book is simply copy-pasting trial transcripts (which can be found free online) and blog comments or interview transcripts (which can be found free online). Every time he tries to say something original he's wrong, and most of the blogs he copies from are also wrong. Reading this if you know anything about the case is beyond frustrating, because on every page you're seeing errors and lies. You're basically paying to read things that can be easily found free online, with his unresearched and completely false claims peppered in here and there.
The ultimate "theory" he posits is that Bill Clinton had "heavy involvement in Iran Contra-type CIA-sponsored drug running out of the Mena, Arkansas airport" and appointed Peg L as AG of Wisconsin to help, and for some reason she needed to make sure Avery and Dassey were convicted for this drug-running scheme to work. He (falsely) claims she was behind some of the decisions made in the case- like appointing Fassbender to help in March (he'd been working on the case since November) and approving Culhane's work (The AG has literally nothing to do with a deviation request within the Crime Lab). Some methheads killed Teresa, then quickly remembered Avery was suing the county so decided to frame him. The methheads, Teresa's brother and friends, Avery's neighbor, and sheriff department officers (oh and the all worked together somehow to make sure Avery got convicted. It would be hilarious if we weren't talking about a real woman who lost her life.
Shaun has publicly bragged that he used his readers for "free fact-checking" so he wouldn't have to do research or fact-checking himself. Pretty pathetic thing for an author who wants to be taken seriously to brag about.
- He claims only one tooth was found in the burnpit and prosecution claimed Avery pulled out all of Teresa's teeth but one. This is 100% made up. 22 tooth fragments were found and prosecution claimed no such thing.
- He claims Brendan Dassey was promised he could just go home if he confessed to rape and murder. This is 100% made up, he's never told any such thing.
- He claims no suspects but Avery were investigated. 100% made up. Her prior Auto Trader appointment and recent ex were asked for alibis, and every adult on the Avery property submitted DNA and fingerprint samples.
- He claims there was a secret interview between Fassbender and Brendan in Crivitz. This is 100% made up. Fassbender was in Manitowoc during the time this made-up interview supposedly took place.
- He claims Brendan didn't "get to tell the jury" why he confessed. This is made up. Brendan testified in his trial.
- He claims it's "ludicrous" that the scene was bleached. This is a lie. Brendan testified in his trial to bleaching the garage (after recanting other parts of his confession), his bleach-stained jeans were collected, and his mother confirms he bleached the garage with Steven on 10/31.
- He claims the bullet found in Avery's garage couldn't be matched to his gun. 100% fabrication, the bullet was matched to the exact gun that hung over Avery's bed, and defense didn't present any expert that could refute that.
- He claims a judge ordered Manitowoc County to stay off the case. 100% fabrication, Manitowoc voluntarily ceded control to Calumet and no orders were ever given by anyone, let alone a judge, telling them to stay off.
- He claims bones and Teresa's phone were found in the same barrel. Shows how little research he did- they were found in different barrels.
- He claims the Manitowoc County coroner grabbed supplies and went to Avery's but was denied access. 100% fabrication, she never went to Avery's.
- He seems to think Ertl, a DCI investigator, was the Calumet County Coroner. Seriously, NO research went into this book!
- He just makes up that a body would take 16 hours to burn, while actual experiments show a body can be reduced to ash using only wood in less than 5 hours. Avery also used tires and a van seat, not just wood.
- He claims human bones were found in the quarry nearby. Not true, some "suspected possible human" bones were found that were never confirmed as human or matched to Teresa.
- It's impossible to summarize how little he understands science, but basically every time he tries to mention it he's wrong. He actually says 7 matching alleles in DNA testing "only proves the donor is a four-legged animal"! And says the FBI mtDNA test could "only" say Teresa couldn't be excluded- he has absolutely no idea what that means. They can "exclude" almost everyone on earth when testing DNA- when someone can "not be excluded" it means there's a one in millions or billions chance it's not them. He's wrong about the bone DNA testing, wrong about the bullet testing, wrong about mtDNA testing, and wrong about the EDTA testing.
- He says the burn pit was excavated with a skid loader that destroyed evidence. Total lie, it was excavated carefully using shovels and sifted through by hand, and the skid loader was only used after the pit was excavated to break up the hardened soil underneath.
- He claims Scott first said the fire was 3 feet then changed it to 10 feet- 100% lie created in the tv show by editing testimony. Scott never said the fire was only three feet, then changed it to 10.
- Somehow he claims in Avery's trial the prosecution didn't "pursue the story" that Teresa was shot in Avery's garage? I don't even know how he gets that- what does he think Avery was convicted for?
- He claims a bloodhound followed Teresa's scent from a trailer in a nearby deer camp. 100% fabrication, the bloodhound actually followed a scent from Avery's doorstep along the route Avery took to hide her car in the salvage yard.
- He claims 129 out of 130 potential jurors already thought Avery was guilty. He was asked in his AMA if he read jury voir dire interviews, where the chosen jurors all profess he is innocent until proven guilty and they don't trust the media is reporting the whole story, and of course said he did not and just kinda made that up by assuming the jurors all lied.
I could go on and on, but a good portion of the errors and fabrications are listed in his Reddit AMA and subsequent book review that I'd suggest googling. He lies and lies and lies. He's wrong about science, wrong about dates, wrong about names, wrong about who did what, wrong about evidence, wrong about everything. The majority of this book is simply copy-pasting trial transcripts (which can be found free online) and blog comments or interview transcripts (which can be found free online). Every time he tries to say something original he's wrong, and most of the blogs he copies from are also wrong. Reading this if you know anything about the case is beyond frustrating, because on every page you're seeing errors and lies. You're basically paying to read things that can be easily found free online, with his unresearched and completely false claims peppered in here and there.
The ultimate "theory" he posits is that Bill Clinton had "heavy involvement in Iran Contra-type CIA-sponsored drug running out of the Mena, Arkansas airport" and appointed Peg L as AG of Wisconsin to help, and for some reason she needed to make sure Avery and Dassey were convicted for this drug-running scheme to work. He (falsely) claims she was behind some of the decisions made in the case- like appointing Fassbender to help in March (he'd been working on the case since November) and approving Culhane's work (The AG has literally nothing to do with a deviation request within the Crime Lab). Some methheads killed Teresa, then quickly remembered Avery was suing the county so decided to frame him. The methheads, Teresa's brother and friends, Avery's neighbor, and sheriff department officers (oh and the all worked together somehow to make sure Avery got convicted. It would be hilarious if we weren't talking about a real woman who lost her life.
Shaun has publicly bragged that he used his readers for "free fact-checking" so he wouldn't have to do research or fact-checking himself. Pretty pathetic thing for an author who wants to be taken seriously to brag about.
June 28, 2018
Um....pretty much just re told the documentary, but not as well. Plus, so much back and forth between the crimes. It was not well done and mildly confusing. Good thing it was free!
January 25, 2017
Picking up from where Netflix’s sub-culture phenomenon Making a Murderer left off, Shaun Attwood’s new book is a damning expose of the corrupt law-enforcement officials in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Un-Making a Murderer systematically exposes the strategic framing of Steven Avery and his young nephew Brendan Dassey at the hands of a complicit district attorney and sinister sheriff’s deputies.
Giving voice to the international outcry that ensued after the airing of the 10-part docu-series, Attwood unveils the covert tactics deployed by Manitowoc and Calumet County deputies chapter by chapter and strategy by strategy. Challenging traditional assumptions and conventional beliefs in the US justice system, Attwood takes you on a journey where the lines between truth and justice are blurred as the fight for a conviction takes precedence over finding the real perpetrator.
Feel outraged at the gut-wrenching manipulation of a young intellectually-limited Brendan Dassey and anger at the first wrongful conviction of Steven Avery, which Shaun Attwood approaches like a sledge hammer. Literally taking no prisoners, Un-Making a Murderer reveals the dark underbelly of Manitowoc where innocent people do go to jail, and killers, stealthily go about their business.
This is the story of three wrongful convictions and those who conspired to abuse the law.
Giving voice to the international outcry that ensued after the airing of the 10-part docu-series, Attwood unveils the covert tactics deployed by Manitowoc and Calumet County deputies chapter by chapter and strategy by strategy. Challenging traditional assumptions and conventional beliefs in the US justice system, Attwood takes you on a journey where the lines between truth and justice are blurred as the fight for a conviction takes precedence over finding the real perpetrator.
Feel outraged at the gut-wrenching manipulation of a young intellectually-limited Brendan Dassey and anger at the first wrongful conviction of Steven Avery, which Shaun Attwood approaches like a sledge hammer. Literally taking no prisoners, Un-Making a Murderer reveals the dark underbelly of Manitowoc where innocent people do go to jail, and killers, stealthily go about their business.
This is the story of three wrongful convictions and those who conspired to abuse the law.
February 28, 2019
This is poorly researched, highly biased and appallingly written. Not having watched the linked TV series, I cannot say for certain but I suspect this is a poor rehash of what was said there. Another reviewer has highlighted the multiple factual and scientific errors within this work, so I won't re-iterate his detailed comments. It's enough to say that basic research shows that the errors are glaringly obvious. From crime scene details to scientific specifics, Attwood does not appear to have actually researched that which he is talking about.
The book is largely made up of copied and pasted transcripts from the court and previous interviews with police and other relevant individuals. There is very little here that could not be found for free online and when Attwood does deign to actually comment, his bias is rammed down your throat. I dont know whether I believe Avery and Dassey to be guilty, but whilst the procedural issues in charging and holding them are obvious, this book does little to cement my views other than leaving a bad taste in my mouth. If anything, having read something this biased makes me want to go read the other side.
Along with all the other issues though, this is just poorly written. It is jumbled and confusing, relying heavily on oft unexplained acronyms specific to US law enforcement - or indeed just randomly taking the place of names. It relies heavily on descriptions of Avery's previous overturned conviction; indeed if most references to that were removed then this would be half the length easily. The author is determined to paint absolutely everybody other than the defendants as liars, sociopaths or actively out to get them. It's not logical. Yes, there are going to be some bad apples in every basket, but not every prosecutor is a sociopath, not every expert witness is lying for the money and not every cop is corrupt.
Essentially, this was a huge waste of time and money. I'm no closer to understanding exactly what went on, but there are so many holes in this conspiracy theory that a Swiss cheese would be offended. The ending fanfare about drug rings and Clintons and political ramifications has no factual backing posited and is - if we are honest - ludicrous.
The book is largely made up of copied and pasted transcripts from the court and previous interviews with police and other relevant individuals. There is very little here that could not be found for free online and when Attwood does deign to actually comment, his bias is rammed down your throat. I dont know whether I believe Avery and Dassey to be guilty, but whilst the procedural issues in charging and holding them are obvious, this book does little to cement my views other than leaving a bad taste in my mouth. If anything, having read something this biased makes me want to go read the other side.
Along with all the other issues though, this is just poorly written. It is jumbled and confusing, relying heavily on oft unexplained acronyms specific to US law enforcement - or indeed just randomly taking the place of names. It relies heavily on descriptions of Avery's previous overturned conviction; indeed if most references to that were removed then this would be half the length easily. The author is determined to paint absolutely everybody other than the defendants as liars, sociopaths or actively out to get them. It's not logical. Yes, there are going to be some bad apples in every basket, but not every prosecutor is a sociopath, not every expert witness is lying for the money and not every cop is corrupt.
Essentially, this was a huge waste of time and money. I'm no closer to understanding exactly what went on, but there are so many holes in this conspiracy theory that a Swiss cheese would be offended. The ending fanfare about drug rings and Clintons and political ramifications has no factual backing posited and is - if we are honest - ludicrous.
February 21, 2017
Shaun Attwood is a London-based bestselling author who humbly accepted prison time for his own mistakes, suffered yet somehow thrived in America's deadliest prison for over 6 years and that which did not kill him made him stronger! This book outlines myriad proof, in extensive and fascinating detail, of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey's innocence in the raping and killing of Teresa Halbach. Having an interest in prisoner's rights from a young age, Attwood's book reinforces some of the most terrifying truths I have learned from previous studies and personal experiences of witnessing close friends slowly lose their sanity sitting in jail for petty crimes. The lesson is this, if you don't have money for a good lawyer or inside connections, you will sit and rot in jail or worse, such as in the Avery case, you could be sentenced to LIFE in prison for a crime you didn't commit! Author Attwood's accurate portrayal of public defenders is a rude awakening to naive individuals. Paid almost nothing, public defenders have no motivation to help you. "Unmaking a Murderer" is a must read, for fan's of the popular Netflix series, "Making a Murderer" among so many others. You won't be able to put down this suspenseful, non-fiction, page-turner. Perhaps the most horrendous, thought provoking lesson learned is this, it could happen to anyone. By some obtuse life circumstance, you could find yourself among a corrupt law enforcement and in prison as an innocent person. Overall, Shaun Attwood pined over this case painstakingly in an effort for justice, and the results are purely clear. Read it for yourself, you won't be disappointed!
October 13, 2018
After watching The Making A Murderer series I was still unsure whether Steven was innocent but after reading this book I’m very sure of his innocence and Brendan’s. The book gives facts that were not mentioned in the series and how things were rigged and they were basically framed. Really interesting read.
April 12, 2018
I don’t know if Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach or not, I do certainly agree that he didn’t get a fair trial, but this book doesn’t even make a cursory attempt to examine the evidence or the situation objectively. At times it was so flagrantly biased that it almost made me want to reflexively defend the law enforcement officers and particularly the expert witnesses, who Shaun rather unreasonably describes as universally being liars who will say anything for money.
As well as being fairly poorly written (which surprised me as I had enjoyed Shaun’s book about his own prison experience, “Hard Time”), huge chunks of this book are literally just copied and pasted transcripts from interviews and court hearings, with little analysis or added information. At times the author resorts to rather childish name calling. Overall, despite being very interested in the subject matter, I was incredibly disappointed with this book.
As well as being fairly poorly written (which surprised me as I had enjoyed Shaun’s book about his own prison experience, “Hard Time”), huge chunks of this book are literally just copied and pasted transcripts from interviews and court hearings, with little analysis or added information. At times the author resorts to rather childish name calling. Overall, despite being very interested in the subject matter, I was incredibly disappointed with this book.
May 25, 2018
Finished this on a long flight from Reykjavik to San Francisco - it had been on my 'reading' shelf for way too long.
Similar to the Netflix series, this book examines the various corrupt practices of the local law enforcement and covers much of the same detail. But it's good in the sense that it reminds the reader of what went on during many of the interviews/searches. That Avery and Dassey remain incarcerated to this day is, in my opinion, disgusting and wrong on so many levels, but I can only go on what I have watched in the Netflix series and read in this book, of course...
Well worth a read if you want to remind yourself of the chain of events in this highly publicised case.
Similar to the Netflix series, this book examines the various corrupt practices of the local law enforcement and covers much of the same detail. But it's good in the sense that it reminds the reader of what went on during many of the interviews/searches. That Avery and Dassey remain incarcerated to this day is, in my opinion, disgusting and wrong on so many levels, but I can only go on what I have watched in the Netflix series and read in this book, of course...
Well worth a read if you want to remind yourself of the chain of events in this highly publicised case.
November 9, 2020
This book is basically a copy of the Netflix series, except it isn't as engaging or as well put-together. The fact that the main review on its Goodreads page is from Brendan Dassey's brother is a good indicator of how partisan and unbalanced the book itself is. If you're interested in this case and its contradictions, this book is not going to provide any info you can't get from the series and will possibly just frustrate you with its lazy and one-sided 'analysis'.
January 1, 2019
This has to be the most one-sided bias book I’ve read in a long time. Shawn Attwood is not a fan of law enforcement in Wisconsin or the DA’s office. Could it be he was a guest of Sherriff Arpaio of Arizona for distribution of the highly addictive drug ecstasy? I would say yes.
Mr. Atwood came to the US penniless from the UK after graduating form college. Hmm. Last I checked, none of the airlines were giving out free tickets and I don’t think the city of Phoenix gave him a place to stay rent free.
While the story lays out that Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey might be innocent, his conclusions are clouded with his utter disdain for law enforcement.
I am so glad the US has barred him from re-entering for life. We don’t need a wanker of his kind over here.
Two Stars.
Mr. Atwood came to the US penniless from the UK after graduating form college. Hmm. Last I checked, none of the airlines were giving out free tickets and I don’t think the city of Phoenix gave him a place to stay rent free.
While the story lays out that Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey might be innocent, his conclusions are clouded with his utter disdain for law enforcement.
I am so glad the US has barred him from re-entering for life. We don’t need a wanker of his kind over here.
Two Stars.
September 21, 2017
A nice supplement to Illusion of Justice.
October 17, 2018
The author does an amazing job of exposing the tactics used by prosecutors and detectives to frame innocent people. Each chapter focuses on one tactic:
Strategy 1: Trigger Emotional Reactions
Strategy 2: Conceal Other Suspects
Strategy 3: Coerce False Confessions
Strategy 4: Plant Evidence
Strategy 5: Pay Expert Witnesses to Lie
Strategy 6: Ensure Public Defenders Work for the Prosecution
Strategy 7: Neutralise Honest Witnesses
Strategy 8: Procure Dishonest Witnesses
Strategy 9: Hire Sociopathic Prosecutors
Strategy 10: Rig the Jury
Attwood pulls no punches about government officials, and perhaps can get away with stating things that lawyers and journalists who have written other books about making a murderer cannot. Can’t believe these guys are still in prison. They are so obviously innocent. I’m looking forward to season two.
Here’s an example from the book of how low the authorities stooped:
Fassbender and Wiegert stooped so low that they tried to manipulate Brendan into stating that Steven had molested him. Accusing someone of a sex offence is a devastating strategy, but
Fassbender and Wiegert couldn’t quite pull it off.
Wiegert: OK. Did you and Steve ever have sex?
Brendan: No.
Wiegert: Are you sure? If you did, it’s OK.
Brendan: I didn’t.
Wiegert: You and Jodi?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Now is the time to really get stuff off your chest, too. Mark asked if you and Steven ever had sex and you said no, but, ah, did Steven ever, let’s talk about, you know what masturbating is?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Did you and Steven ever masturbate together or anything like that?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: It’s all right. Did he ever touch you? You don’t need to think about that question. Did he ever touch you? It’s all right. Now is the time.
Brendan: What do you mean by touching?
Fassbender: Um, in places that you felt uncomfortable with?
Brendan: Sometimes.
Fassbender: Yeah. And what places were those?
Brendan: My privates and…
Fassbender: You know.
Brendan: You know and there.
Fassbender: OK. And that’s all right that you talk about this. This is the time to talk about it ’cause it’s important. It’s important to know and for the courts and everyone else to know what you’ve gone through. It makes us feel a lot more for you. OK. And by privates, you mean by, by your penis?
Brendan: Mm-huh.
Fassbender: Did he touch you on your penis?
Brendan: Well, sometimes he was, he would try to grab it.
Fassbender: Ah huh. And, and ah, were [you] unclothed at that time?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Then how did he try to grab it?
Brendan: Through the pants.
Fassbender: Oh. OK. And what did you tell him when he did that?
Brendan: I was trying to get rid a, get him off me.
Fassbender: Yeah. Did you ever touch his?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Did he ask you to?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: Did he ever show you his?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: You sure?
Brendan: Yes.
Fassbender: Did he ask to see yours?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: Just try to, ah, grab yours through your pants a couple of times or something?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Is that accurate?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Did he ever say anything when he was doing that?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: And you told him no, or just tried to get him off you.
Brendan: Just trying to get him off me.
Fassbender: By getting him off of you, was he kind of, what was he doing, pushing against or
leaning against you or anything like that, or…?
Brendan: Well, it was like wrestling and…
Fassbender: Oh. And he grabbed you down there? Is that all he’s ever done?
Brendan: Yeah.
The investigators realised that Brendan was referring to rough-house wrestling in which grabbing the private parts is a tactic to dominate and humiliate. Their plan was to get Brendan to call his mother to confess to crimes against Teresa and to implicate Steven in additional felonies, supporting the picture of deviancy that they were creating around Steven. Anything Brendan said on a recorded line to his mother would be deemed admissible and played in court. With the jurors not having been privy to the coercion that had taken place before the call, it would appear that Brendan was having a totally honest conversation with his mother. The investigators persisted with the touching theme:
Fassbender: ’Cause we need to know now. It’s not gonna help to tell us a month from now, two months from now, two years from now, ’cause then they’re gonna go, ‘Brendan, why didn’t you tell the investigators at that time?’ Is there anything else he did to you sexually?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Was Jodi ever involved in anything?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Have you told Mark everything now… truthfully?
Brendan: Yeah.
Having convinced Brendan that it was in his best interest to confess to Teresa’s murder, Fassbender and Wiegert encouraged Brendan to call his mother, so that they could use the recorded conversation in court:
Fassbender: Mark mentioned talking to your mom about this and being truthful with her now. OK.
If you’re truly sorry to the Halbachs, you’ll… tell your mother the truth about this. OK.
Wiegert: Are you gonna do that?
Brendan: Yeah.
Wiegert: When you gonna do that?
Brendan: Tonight.
Wiegert: OK. Probably be a good idea before we tell her. That’d be the right thing to do. Your mom deserves to know. OK.
Brendan: Mm-huh. (nods)
As with all his post-confession calls to his mother, the investigators had pressured Brendan with the prospect of them telling Barb the details if he didn’t.
This call formed part of a brief filed by Brendan’s legal team on December 6, 2016: “The Wisconsin Court of Appeals made an unreasonable factual finding when it found that the state had introduced the May 13 telephone call during trial only to cross-examine Brendan, when the state used the call three times, including during closing argument to neutralize Brendan’s alibi.”
Brendan perceived that he had no choice but to confess. Once again, he told Barb that Steven had committed the crimes and had forced him to help.
Barb: Did he make you do this?
Brendan: Yeah.
Barb: Then why didn’t you tell him that?
Brendan: Tell him what?
Barb: That Steven made you do it. You know, he made you do a lot of things.
Brendan: Yeah, I told them that. I even told them about Steven touching me and that.
Brendan had added the touching because the investigators had insisted on him telling Barb everything that he had told them. To this day, there are people who insist that Steven molested Brendan based on that one sentence that Brendan had said to his mother about the touching. These detractors have a blind faith in the investigators and have drawn conclusions without acknowledging the manipulative role of law enforcement in this case or researching any deeper.
Strategy 1: Trigger Emotional Reactions
Strategy 2: Conceal Other Suspects
Strategy 3: Coerce False Confessions
Strategy 4: Plant Evidence
Strategy 5: Pay Expert Witnesses to Lie
Strategy 6: Ensure Public Defenders Work for the Prosecution
Strategy 7: Neutralise Honest Witnesses
Strategy 8: Procure Dishonest Witnesses
Strategy 9: Hire Sociopathic Prosecutors
Strategy 10: Rig the Jury
Attwood pulls no punches about government officials, and perhaps can get away with stating things that lawyers and journalists who have written other books about making a murderer cannot. Can’t believe these guys are still in prison. They are so obviously innocent. I’m looking forward to season two.
Here’s an example from the book of how low the authorities stooped:
Fassbender and Wiegert stooped so low that they tried to manipulate Brendan into stating that Steven had molested him. Accusing someone of a sex offence is a devastating strategy, but
Fassbender and Wiegert couldn’t quite pull it off.
Wiegert: OK. Did you and Steve ever have sex?
Brendan: No.
Wiegert: Are you sure? If you did, it’s OK.
Brendan: I didn’t.
Wiegert: You and Jodi?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Now is the time to really get stuff off your chest, too. Mark asked if you and Steven ever had sex and you said no, but, ah, did Steven ever, let’s talk about, you know what masturbating is?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Did you and Steven ever masturbate together or anything like that?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: It’s all right. Did he ever touch you? You don’t need to think about that question. Did he ever touch you? It’s all right. Now is the time.
Brendan: What do you mean by touching?
Fassbender: Um, in places that you felt uncomfortable with?
Brendan: Sometimes.
Fassbender: Yeah. And what places were those?
Brendan: My privates and…
Fassbender: You know.
Brendan: You know and there.
Fassbender: OK. And that’s all right that you talk about this. This is the time to talk about it ’cause it’s important. It’s important to know and for the courts and everyone else to know what you’ve gone through. It makes us feel a lot more for you. OK. And by privates, you mean by, by your penis?
Brendan: Mm-huh.
Fassbender: Did he touch you on your penis?
Brendan: Well, sometimes he was, he would try to grab it.
Fassbender: Ah huh. And, and ah, were [you] unclothed at that time?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Then how did he try to grab it?
Brendan: Through the pants.
Fassbender: Oh. OK. And what did you tell him when he did that?
Brendan: I was trying to get rid a, get him off me.
Fassbender: Yeah. Did you ever touch his?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Did he ask you to?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: Did he ever show you his?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: You sure?
Brendan: Yes.
Fassbender: Did he ask to see yours?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: Just try to, ah, grab yours through your pants a couple of times or something?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Is that accurate?
Brendan: Yeah.
Fassbender: Did he ever say anything when he was doing that?
Brendan: No. (shakes head)
Fassbender: And you told him no, or just tried to get him off you.
Brendan: Just trying to get him off me.
Fassbender: By getting him off of you, was he kind of, what was he doing, pushing against or
leaning against you or anything like that, or…?
Brendan: Well, it was like wrestling and…
Fassbender: Oh. And he grabbed you down there? Is that all he’s ever done?
Brendan: Yeah.
The investigators realised that Brendan was referring to rough-house wrestling in which grabbing the private parts is a tactic to dominate and humiliate. Their plan was to get Brendan to call his mother to confess to crimes against Teresa and to implicate Steven in additional felonies, supporting the picture of deviancy that they were creating around Steven. Anything Brendan said on a recorded line to his mother would be deemed admissible and played in court. With the jurors not having been privy to the coercion that had taken place before the call, it would appear that Brendan was having a totally honest conversation with his mother. The investigators persisted with the touching theme:
Fassbender: ’Cause we need to know now. It’s not gonna help to tell us a month from now, two months from now, two years from now, ’cause then they’re gonna go, ‘Brendan, why didn’t you tell the investigators at that time?’ Is there anything else he did to you sexually?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Was Jodi ever involved in anything?
Brendan: No.
Fassbender: Have you told Mark everything now… truthfully?
Brendan: Yeah.
Having convinced Brendan that it was in his best interest to confess to Teresa’s murder, Fassbender and Wiegert encouraged Brendan to call his mother, so that they could use the recorded conversation in court:
Fassbender: Mark mentioned talking to your mom about this and being truthful with her now. OK.
If you’re truly sorry to the Halbachs, you’ll… tell your mother the truth about this. OK.
Wiegert: Are you gonna do that?
Brendan: Yeah.
Wiegert: When you gonna do that?
Brendan: Tonight.
Wiegert: OK. Probably be a good idea before we tell her. That’d be the right thing to do. Your mom deserves to know. OK.
Brendan: Mm-huh. (nods)
As with all his post-confession calls to his mother, the investigators had pressured Brendan with the prospect of them telling Barb the details if he didn’t.
This call formed part of a brief filed by Brendan’s legal team on December 6, 2016: “The Wisconsin Court of Appeals made an unreasonable factual finding when it found that the state had introduced the May 13 telephone call during trial only to cross-examine Brendan, when the state used the call three times, including during closing argument to neutralize Brendan’s alibi.”
Brendan perceived that he had no choice but to confess. Once again, he told Barb that Steven had committed the crimes and had forced him to help.
Barb: Did he make you do this?
Brendan: Yeah.
Barb: Then why didn’t you tell him that?
Brendan: Tell him what?
Barb: That Steven made you do it. You know, he made you do a lot of things.
Brendan: Yeah, I told them that. I even told them about Steven touching me and that.
Brendan had added the touching because the investigators had insisted on him telling Barb everything that he had told them. To this day, there are people who insist that Steven molested Brendan based on that one sentence that Brendan had said to his mother about the touching. These detractors have a blind faith in the investigators and have drawn conclusions without acknowledging the manipulative role of law enforcement in this case or researching any deeper.
February 8, 2018
Too Confusing for My Taste
I wasn't aware that the story hadn't concluded in real life. The author used far too many abbreviations, sometimes only initials. The method of organization led to too much repetition. Certainly the world isn't divided into good guys and bad guys, with all the bad guys working as crime prosecutors.
I wasn't aware that the story hadn't concluded in real life. The author used far too many abbreviations, sometimes only initials. The method of organization led to too much repetition. Certainly the world isn't divided into good guys and bad guys, with all the bad guys working as crime prosecutors.
July 11, 2018
As horrific as each case is, and as deserving as the victims are of justice, it should never be at the detriment of someone else's life. This book is insightful, A very well researched account of two high-profile cases. Shaun Attwood communicates his evidence in his usual engaging, gripping style. This book is for anyone interested in criminology, the justice system / injustice and activism.
August 21, 2022
You probably watched the Making a Murderer documentary and realized there was something amiss. This book takes actual transcripts and court records and recounts just how amiss everything was.
It focuses mostly on the younger, Brendan Dassey, an intellectually challenged, borderline disabled child who was coerced into confessing to raping and helping dispose of the body of a woman his uncle is accused of killing.
His confession was upheld even though he, a minor, was interrogated without a parent or lawyer present. Not that it would have helped. His lawyer is on video coercing a false confession out of his client. Leading and basically instructing him on what to say and do.
It's much of the same ground tread by the Netflix doc, but it's also more in depth. Hours of transcripts are provided where it's absolutely clear the young man didn't know what he was doing, and was just trying to please the officers and go home.
Dassey's new attorneys as well as his uncle Stephen Avery's new attorneys are on the record in the book, explaining all of the forensic testing they planned to do. They also point out how no other leads were followed in this case, much like the original wrongful conviction against Avery.
Many of the same characters were involved when a woman was almost raped and murdered at a beach. She gave a description of the suspect and the police decided that description matched Avery. Even though there were over a dozen witnesses to Avery hours away at the time of the crime, and his physical features did not match, nor did his blood match the evidence the victim had preserved, he was determined by the police to be the guy. They manipulated the victim into agreeing that he was the perpetrator and he went to prison.
With an appeal he was able to have the blood evidence tested. Not only did the blood evidence not match his own, but it did match a currently incarcerated sex offender. Who had confessed to a cellmate.
So Avery was in the process of suing the city/county of Mainitowoc and was preparing for what his attorneys believed would be a multi-million dollar settlement.
That's when Teresa Hallbach was called in as missing. Interestingly she lived with a boyfriend and a roommate and neither reported her missing. Her boss called her mother, her emergency contact, because she hadn't been to work in two days and he worried she'd been in an accident. The mother immediately called the police.
Hallbach was a photographer who was on Avery's property to photograph a vehicle for sale.
The prosecution's theory of the case was that she was kidnapped, raped, murdered, dismembered, and then cremated in various parts of the property.
However there are holes in that theory.
There was blood, both hers and Avery's in the vehicle. Except his blood was only in the front seats of the vehicle and hers was only in the cargo area. Multiple experts agree that if a perpetrator is bleeding it's almost impossible for their blood not to be mixed with the victim's blood. What is possible is that the blood came from Avery's previous wrongful conviction, a case where the local sheriff's department would still be able to access vials of blood from the recent case.
The key that was found by the police had only Avery's DNA on it. And it was a Valet key, meaning it would start the car, and open the driver's side door, but not the back hatch. The rest of the keyring was never found. This is also interesting as there was a police blockade when the state police took over the investigation as Manitiwoc was deemed to have a conflict of interest, and that blockade was breached by two town officers. The key was found in the middle of the floor after three days of searching.
No other leads were followed. The boyfriend and the roommate who failed to report her missing for two days, neither were ever interviewed. The boyfriend was allowed to lead the search which is a common tactic intimate murderers attempt to lead search teams to or away from the body. A relative of the boyfriend was the one who found Hallbach's vehicle on the property. Another relative of the boyfriend found the car key inside Avery's home.
Once you realize the local police had, what was essentially, a vendetta against Avery and his whole family, it becomes far simpler to believe they were actively framing him for the crime, and intimidating his borderline disabled nephew was just a bonus.
Dassey's own attorney gave testimony that the whole family was messed up and they should all be gotten rid of. Which makes it easy to see why he would work with police to coerce a confession from the kid.
It seems like there was a genuine miscarriage of justice here, and it seems like there's a substantial amount of corruption in Wisconsin.
It focuses mostly on the younger, Brendan Dassey, an intellectually challenged, borderline disabled child who was coerced into confessing to raping and helping dispose of the body of a woman his uncle is accused of killing.
His confession was upheld even though he, a minor, was interrogated without a parent or lawyer present. Not that it would have helped. His lawyer is on video coercing a false confession out of his client. Leading and basically instructing him on what to say and do.
It's much of the same ground tread by the Netflix doc, but it's also more in depth. Hours of transcripts are provided where it's absolutely clear the young man didn't know what he was doing, and was just trying to please the officers and go home.
Dassey's new attorneys as well as his uncle Stephen Avery's new attorneys are on the record in the book, explaining all of the forensic testing they planned to do. They also point out how no other leads were followed in this case, much like the original wrongful conviction against Avery.
Many of the same characters were involved when a woman was almost raped and murdered at a beach. She gave a description of the suspect and the police decided that description matched Avery. Even though there were over a dozen witnesses to Avery hours away at the time of the crime, and his physical features did not match, nor did his blood match the evidence the victim had preserved, he was determined by the police to be the guy. They manipulated the victim into agreeing that he was the perpetrator and he went to prison.
With an appeal he was able to have the blood evidence tested. Not only did the blood evidence not match his own, but it did match a currently incarcerated sex offender. Who had confessed to a cellmate.
So Avery was in the process of suing the city/county of Mainitowoc and was preparing for what his attorneys believed would be a multi-million dollar settlement.
That's when Teresa Hallbach was called in as missing. Interestingly she lived with a boyfriend and a roommate and neither reported her missing. Her boss called her mother, her emergency contact, because she hadn't been to work in two days and he worried she'd been in an accident. The mother immediately called the police.
Hallbach was a photographer who was on Avery's property to photograph a vehicle for sale.
The prosecution's theory of the case was that she was kidnapped, raped, murdered, dismembered, and then cremated in various parts of the property.
However there are holes in that theory.
There was blood, both hers and Avery's in the vehicle. Except his blood was only in the front seats of the vehicle and hers was only in the cargo area. Multiple experts agree that if a perpetrator is bleeding it's almost impossible for their blood not to be mixed with the victim's blood. What is possible is that the blood came from Avery's previous wrongful conviction, a case where the local sheriff's department would still be able to access vials of blood from the recent case.
The key that was found by the police had only Avery's DNA on it. And it was a Valet key, meaning it would start the car, and open the driver's side door, but not the back hatch. The rest of the keyring was never found. This is also interesting as there was a police blockade when the state police took over the investigation as Manitiwoc was deemed to have a conflict of interest, and that blockade was breached by two town officers. The key was found in the middle of the floor after three days of searching.
No other leads were followed. The boyfriend and the roommate who failed to report her missing for two days, neither were ever interviewed. The boyfriend was allowed to lead the search which is a common tactic intimate murderers attempt to lead search teams to or away from the body. A relative of the boyfriend was the one who found Hallbach's vehicle on the property. Another relative of the boyfriend found the car key inside Avery's home.
Once you realize the local police had, what was essentially, a vendetta against Avery and his whole family, it becomes far simpler to believe they were actively framing him for the crime, and intimidating his borderline disabled nephew was just a bonus.
Dassey's own attorney gave testimony that the whole family was messed up and they should all be gotten rid of. Which makes it easy to see why he would work with police to coerce a confession from the kid.
It seems like there was a genuine miscarriage of justice here, and it seems like there's a substantial amount of corruption in Wisconsin.
May 2, 2019
Reid Technique, 90% of state/federal cases conclude as plea bargains.
2003, Steven Avery (nephew) was exonerated of a rape/attempted murder Teresa Halbach (25). He spent 18 yrs. in prison, & he was about to receive $36-million in compensation.
Sheboygan County jail. FBI SA Fassbender was assigned to interrogate Brendan Dassey (16).
Attorney Robert Dvorak had issued a subpoena against Mike O’Kelly for unethical conduct.
Len Kachinsky appeared on the Nancy Grace Show to discuss Brendan’s case.
Moira Demos (producer) was going to film Making a Murderer.
Gregory Allen had stalked, raped & almost killed Penny Beerntsen.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written true crime book. It was
very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great true crime movie, a PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (True Crime; American Crime Story; Investigative Discovery. There are no references, works cited, or endnotes so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; Gadfly Press; Justkindlebooks; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
2003, Steven Avery (nephew) was exonerated of a rape/attempted murder Teresa Halbach (25). He spent 18 yrs. in prison, & he was about to receive $36-million in compensation.
Sheboygan County jail. FBI SA Fassbender was assigned to interrogate Brendan Dassey (16).
Attorney Robert Dvorak had issued a subpoena against Mike O’Kelly for unethical conduct.
Len Kachinsky appeared on the Nancy Grace Show to discuss Brendan’s case.
Moira Demos (producer) was going to film Making a Murderer.
Gregory Allen had stalked, raped & almost killed Penny Beerntsen.
Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written true crime book. It was
very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great true crime movie, a PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (True Crime; American Crime Story; Investigative Discovery. There are no references, works cited, or endnotes so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; Gadfly Press; Justkindlebooks; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
March 4, 2017
Shaun Attwood delves into the continuous injustice falling upon Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. Fans of the Netflix series Making a Murderer will enjoy this book. It offers more insight to the cases. Mr. Attwood breaks down all of the evidence proving that Steven and Brendan did not commit the horrific rape and murder of Teresa Halbach. I believe that the Manitowac Police Department was still angry about the outcome of Steven’s first wrongful conviction. The work in that case and Ms. Halbach’s case was complete shoddy police work. Even when all evidence pointed away from Steven Avery, the police still found a way to have him pointed out as the rapist. Fast forward to Ms. Halbach’s murder and the same thing is happening again. The Manitowac Police Department is responsible for the wrongful conviction and is trying to prove Steven and Brendan are murderers in this case to save face. However, the evidence points away from both men completely. It’s a sad thing to know that the people that are hired to protect and serve are doing everything they can to frame innocent men. The horrible thing is that Teresa’s murder is still unsolved. The police were so intent on convicting Steven and Brendan that they didn’t put their focus anywhere else. A murderer is still free and until the police department realizes that, the murderer will continue to roam free.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
April 28, 2019
Case Made Convincingly
Author Shaun Atwood presents a very strong case celebrating Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey of the tape and brutal murder of a Wisconsin photographer. He not only lays out his theories as to how the detectives and prosecutors framed Avery and Dassey, he supports them with evidence. It is coincidental that the framing of these two suspects is very similar to the case made by police and prosecutors in the OJ Simpson trial.
Atwood also puts forth evidence concerning the bizarre and disgusting personal conduct of prosecutor Ken Kratz. However, what disturbs me is the author's repeated attacks on the law enforcement community in Manitowoc County and State of Wisconsin. Atwood appears to imply there are no clean and ethical police and prosecutors in the entire state. The use of the "few bad apples" as the general population of law enforcement in Wisconsin serves to discredit the author rather than support his allegations.
Author Shaun Atwood presents a very strong case celebrating Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey of the tape and brutal murder of a Wisconsin photographer. He not only lays out his theories as to how the detectives and prosecutors framed Avery and Dassey, he supports them with evidence. It is coincidental that the framing of these two suspects is very similar to the case made by police and prosecutors in the OJ Simpson trial.
Atwood also puts forth evidence concerning the bizarre and disgusting personal conduct of prosecutor Ken Kratz. However, what disturbs me is the author's repeated attacks on the law enforcement community in Manitowoc County and State of Wisconsin. Atwood appears to imply there are no clean and ethical police and prosecutors in the entire state. The use of the "few bad apples" as the general population of law enforcement in Wisconsin serves to discredit the author rather than support his allegations.
March 22, 2019
I found this book to be very interesting. It had a lot of detail - sometimes I got lost in the technical parts of the book, but it was very intriguing nonetheless. As the family member of an individual with special needs, I found myself getting very angry with the treatment and coercion of Brendan during his interrogation. I can definitely say that this book provoked an emotional response. I have never seen the Netflix documentary on this case, but this book definitely makes me want to watch that, and find out the latest information about what's going on with these two individuals. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in following murder cases, forensic science, and corrupt officials. I think anyone curious about those topics would find this book very intriguing.
September 10, 2021
A complete disappointment. The majority of this book is just copied and pasted from court transcripts and interviews. There is no real analysis by the author other than a random comment here and there. It seems like the author has not conducted any actual research on the case at all.
Also a lot of the book focuses on Stevens 1985 wrongful conviction, not his current conviction which is what the book is supposed to be about?
Take out the transcripts and the 1985 conviction and it would barely pass as an essay!!
Thankfully I didn't pay anything for this book as it was free with kindle unlimited, and I am glad that I didn't pay for it as it would have been a complete waste of money.
Also a lot of the book focuses on Stevens 1985 wrongful conviction, not his current conviction which is what the book is supposed to be about?
Take out the transcripts and the 1985 conviction and it would barely pass as an essay!!
Thankfully I didn't pay anything for this book as it was free with kindle unlimited, and I am glad that I didn't pay for it as it would have been a complete waste of money.
March 5, 2019
I was hooked on the Nextflix series this book is referring too, and whilst I do believe Avery and Dassey have been framed, this book didn't offer me anything new. This was basically a retelling of the whole series and the authors own biased one-sided views on law enforcement etc.
It fell flat for me, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it certainly wasn't a blow by blow rehash account of the series.
I was provided with a copy from Reading Deals and have given my honest opinion.
It fell flat for me, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it certainly wasn't a blow by blow rehash account of the series.
I was provided with a copy from Reading Deals and have given my honest opinion.
August 7, 2019
No, I didn't see the Netflix series but still wanted to learn something about this case (and this book was free). After reading, I do find it difficult to come to an opinion about what really happened. There's plenty of information, but not conveyed in a factual manner and it's indeed very one-sided. However, even if half of the claims are true, then it would at the very least merit a re-trial.
I thought the book wasn't very well written, maybe missing a proper editor?
My take from this: the justice system in the USA is in need of a complete overhaul.
I thought the book wasn't very well written, maybe missing a proper editor?
My take from this: the justice system in the USA is in need of a complete overhaul.
February 23, 2019
I watched the documentaries still not sure about their guilt or innocence. After reading this book, the only thing I'm sure of is that the author is very biased and doesn't mind showing it. The book was confusing to say the least. I still have an open mind as to what actually happened but doubt I will be reading anything else by this author.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
April 23, 2019
I have followed this story from the beginning, on every outlet available and no one gets the details correct like this page turner. It keeps you guessing, at what else was hidden from the trial or the public? It is jam packed full of facts, actual interview transcripts that were never brought to light! It is very well written and meticulously thought out! I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in this case no matter where you stand with the case!
August 29, 2019
What a great book!
All the evidence in this book is brought forth very professionally. It also proves to me they are innocent. My husband was an officer and detective, so I felt I had heard it all, but nothing as horrible as this. Please buy this book and if you feel as I do after reading it, please sign the petition at the end of book. This is really sad, that it is so hard to get a fair trial in this country!
All the evidence in this book is brought forth very professionally. It also proves to me they are innocent. My husband was an officer and detective, so I felt I had heard it all, but nothing as horrible as this. Please buy this book and if you feel as I do after reading it, please sign the petition at the end of book. This is really sad, that it is so hard to get a fair trial in this country!
March 26, 2018
Interesting read.
Super interesting with lots of facts. Ive always felt things were off with this story and reading this makes me continue to feel this way. This was definitely a case if guilty until proven innocent. Sadly, they are botg still stuck in the unjust. Still think the ex did it.
Super interesting with lots of facts. Ive always felt things were off with this story and reading this makes me continue to feel this way. This was definitely a case if guilty until proven innocent. Sadly, they are botg still stuck in the unjust. Still think the ex did it.
August 19, 2018
So much information
I did not watch the documentary about this case, so I read this book with little knowledge of what went on. It saddens me to know that two innocent men are serving time for something they did not do. Thank you for writing this book. It’s time to make a difference.
I did not watch the documentary about this case, so I read this book with little knowledge of what went on. It saddens me to know that two innocent men are serving time for something they did not do. Thank you for writing this book. It’s time to make a difference.
August 27, 2019
Good read. Not as current as the Ferak book but that's certainly no fault of this author. Discovered new info as well. Also well written and researched. I particularly liked the fact that author tells you how to help.
It was excellent. If you're a fan of the series on Netflix you will enjoy reading this true tale. A+
It was excellent. If you're a fan of the series on Netflix you will enjoy reading this true tale. A+
October 19, 2017
Excellent book, well detailed with great rationale and weighing up of evidence. Shaun has been able to fill in lots of pieces of information that were missing from MaM to paint a fuller picture.
FREE BRENDAN #DasseyNation
FREE BRENDAN #DasseyNation
July 25, 2018
The corrupt system
A very well written book that is very informative and shows how much more corrupt the state of Wisconsin really is. Details that Netflix, "Making of a Murder" left out that are important to know. This is a must read, occupy are going to watch the docu-series.
A very well written book that is very informative and shows how much more corrupt the state of Wisconsin really is. Details that Netflix, "Making of a Murder" left out that are important to know. This is a must read, occupy are going to watch the docu-series.
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