When the federal judges that made up the en banc majority found that while there were factors that supported finding Brendan Dassey’s confession involuntary; that his confession was riddled with inconsistencies and that interrogators did offer up broad assurances that honesty would be rewarded with leniency, the slim majority determined that this was not enough to uphold what four other federal judges found to be a “profound miscarriage of justice.” For the majority climbing the insurmountable wall that AEDPA built took a judicial courage they lacked.

In this episode of the Sixth Hour, I’m joined by Professor Brandon Garrett, a distinguished Professor of Law and constitutional scholar prolific in the study of the innocent exonerated by DNA testing whose empirical research on the criminal justice system includes false confessions, forensics, eyewitness testimony and so much more. Join us for a masterclass in AEDPA.