Doug Schneider

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Prosecutor Ken Kratz said 'innocent people don't confess.' That's not always true, experts say.

Though it has angered and frustrated many people, "Making a Murderer" also has done some good.

At the top of the list for me is that the Netflix documentary about the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach has rekindled a discussion about the role of confessions in criminal cases, and the need for defendants to have adequate legal representation. The 10-part series has prompted articles about false confessions — particularly by young, low-intelligence and vulnerable defendants who might be incapable of understanding their rights.

A key scene in the documentary shows teenage defendant Brendan Dassey making statements implicating himself in the slaying. What it doesn't show is his attorney, who chose not to be in sheriff's interview room because he had a scheduling conflict.

Dassey's confession becomes a key element for the prosecution at the end of his trial. "Innocent people don't confess," prosecutor Ken Kratz tells the jurors who will eventually convict Dassey of first-degree intentional homicide as party to a crime, second-degree sexual assault as party to a crime and mutilating a corpse as party to a crime. His uncle, Steven Avery, also was convicted of Halbach's murder; he was sentenced to life without parole.

This is not to say that I think Dassey is guilty or not guilty in Halbach's death.

I wasn't at the trial; I haven't read the transcripts of the weeks of testimony. I've seen the documentary. But no one should attempt to render a verdict based solely on a documentary. Seriously.

What one can do, however, is identify areas for potential improvements in the justice system. And a number have been published in the wake of "Making a Murderer":

» Tennessee lawmaker Mike Sparks has introduced a bill that would prohibit a juvenile in that state from being interrogated without having a lawyer, parent or guardian present.

» Critics of a police approach to interrogation called the Reid Technique argue that departments should interview suspects with a focus on getting to the truth as opposed to eliciting a confession. (The other side to that coin is that if the suspect turns out to be guilty, you want him to admit it.)

» Temple University Professor Laurence Steinberg, in the Huffington Post, says a teen being interrogated might make up a story, thinking it will end the discomfort of the interrogation. Dassey, for example, wondered whether he could be back in school that afternoon. Told he would have to stay with deputies for a while, he asked whether they meant "one day."

He is eligible for parole in 2048.

Contrary to Kratz's statement, many experts will tell you that innocent people sometimes do confess, for a variety of reasons. Whether that is or isn't true of Brendan Dassey in the Teresa Halbach case, this is an opportunity to learn from his situation and possibly make the justice system work even better.

dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider