‘Making a Murderer’ Convict’s Half-Brother Drops Rap Track
The half-brother of Making a Murderer subject Brendan Dassey — who was convicted of murder alongside his uncle Steven Avery — has dropped a rap track expounding the pair’s innocence, the Milwaukee Record reports.
Brad Dassey, a self-described “indie Christian rapper,” shared the bluntly titled “They Didn’t Do It” on his YouTube and SoundCloud pages, along with a note that said he wrote and recorded the song in 10 straight hours. Over an ominous horn-laden beat, Dassey recounts the details of the grisly case — which has become a national obsession thanks to the Netflix docu-series — while slamming Manitowoc County authorities.
Brendan Dassey and Avery were sentenced to life in prison after they were found guilty of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005. The conviction came two years after Avery — the primary focus of Making a Murderer — was exonerated by DNA evidence in an unrelated rape case for which he served 18 years (he was also in the process of suing Manitowoc County for $36 million when he was slapped with the murder charge). Making a Murderer examines the intricacies of Avery and Dassey’s case and presents that theory that he was framed by Manitowoc County law enforcement.
Brad Dassey, for his part, echoes these claims in “They Didn’t Do It,” spitting on behalf of his half-brother, who was a teenager at the time: “Kid’s just innocent / was only 16, tryna set him free / He’s not guilty, there’s no way in hell / Corruption made him fall, lose it all .”
Dassey’s “They Didn’t Do It” is not the first song Making a Murderer has inspired. Last week, Dan Auerbach’s group the Arcs released the psychedelic “Lake Superior,” and promised that proceeds from the song would benefit the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization — featured prominently in the show — that helps exonerate wrongly convicted people.