Michelle Willard

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

MURFREESBORO — One of the most troubling aspects of Netflix’s breakout documentary series “Making a Murderer” is the potentially false confession of Steven Avery’s teenage nephew, local defense attorney Scott Kimberly said.

But juvenile offenders in Tennessee could be better protected from making incriminating statements if a proposed change to state law passes.

“As a criminal defense attorney, I am thrilled that ‘Making a Murderer’ has made two things clear to the general public, neither of which is related to the Steven Avery murder trial,” Kimberly said about the documentary that centers on Avery’s 2007 trial for the murder of Teresa Halbach in Wisconsin.

Kimberly said it is important for the public to know that wrongful convictions do exist, but it’s the false confessions that trouble him the most.

In the 2007 investigation against Avery, police interviewed his 16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey on multiple occasions without a lawyer or guardian present until the teenager seemingly confessed to the rape and murder of Halbach, according to footage in the documentary.

After Dassey agreed with detectives that he helped kill the victim, he asked if he could make it to his next class because he had a project due.

“The viewer is left to conclude that this young man had no understanding of his own confession,” Kimberly said.

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When the General Assembly convenes Tuesday, among the many pieces of legislation being considered will be one from state Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, that would require minors to be advised of their rights and that a parent or guardian must be present for any interview with police and the interview be recorded on video when juveniles are suspected of breaking a state or federal law.

“Not everyone has access to high-priced lawyers to bail them out. My job is to help represent the people who don’t have a voice. We need to help these people,” said Sparks, admitting he hasn’t watched the documentary yet.

The legislation would also clarify state law to ensure minors know they are entitled to have legal counsel, parent or guardian present when they are interviewed or interrogated “at all stages of any delinquency proceedings or proceedings alleging unruly conduct,” the legislation says.

Sparks said the legislation is inspired by another documentary he learned about from constituent Kathy Hines, who is also the chairwoman of TN-ZERO Crime Task Force.

She was inspired by the story of Cyntoia Brown, who is serving a sentence for the 2004 murder of a 43-year-old man in Nashville, Hines said.

Brown, who was 16 years old at the time of the crime, said she feared for her life so she shot the victim. She was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison.

Watched all of

Hines said she recently watched the 2012 PBS documentary about Brown, "Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story.”

“I was really shocked by watching it," Hines said, adding she then called Sparks and told him about the need for more protection for juvenile suspects. “The whole thing bothered me because there was nobody there for her.”

Sparks said he agreed to support the law change because he is concerned about how much the state spends on housing juvenile offenders who didn’t know their rights when they were questioned.

“A lot of folks only look at how we can tie a noose around someone’s neck and strengthen it,” Sparks said.

'Making a Murderer' leads to calls for clemency

Kimberly said he thinks the greatest value in documentaries such as “Making a Murderer” and “Me Facing Life” are that they shed light on criminal justice issues like wrongful convictions and false confessions.

“The truth is that many people confess to crimes they did not commit. I can’t explain it, but the inconvenient truth is that false confessions exist,” Kimberly said.

Contact Michelle Willard at 615-278-5164, on Twitter @MichWillard or Rutherford County Business News on Facebook.