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With a cursory glance at the subject matter of Netflix’s Making a Murderer, one would be right with demanding that the justice system somehow fix itself, but Steven Avery’s problems go deeper than that — officials in Wisconsin have seemingly gone out of their way to make sure that Avery suffers for the domino effect he created when he ran his cousin off of the road.
There are mountains of issues compiled beneath the treatment of Avery, dating back to the handling of his case in 1985 that displayed a mismanagement of the sheriff’s office — purposely — that allowed a sexual deviant to go free and commit more crimes before DNA evidence exonerated Avery. There’s been an outcry of justice for Avery, who was subsequently locked away for another crime, this time murder, as he was attempting to sue the officials that wrongly put him in prison for 18 years. In the aftermath of Netflix’s original series, the masses gathered to sign a petition that reached the office of the White House, but alas, it seems the President can do nothing for Avery. An official response from the White House says:
Since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are both state prisoners, the President cannot pardon them. A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities. While this case is out of the Administration’s purview, President Obama is committed to restoring the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system. That’s why he has granted 184 commutations total — more than the last five presidents combined — and has issued 66 pardons over his time in office.
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Thanks Obama!
Gracias Señor Obama
Wait, are you telling me that people who get all their information from a Netflix documentary don’t understand the difference between State and Federal jurisdiction? Shocking…
I’m starting to think Idiocracy didn’t go far enough.
Surely this must be the first time a white house petition accomplished nothing at all, right?
I want to see the next victim of the original rapist sue the state for ignoring all the evidence & keeping the wrong man in prison for 18 years.
Eh, they’ll just throw a murder charge on her and wash their hands clean. Problem solved.
“It remains to be seen if the scales of justice perhaps tip in the proper fashion, towards the release of Avery, on the state level.”
Wow, you must be a brilliant criminal law expert to feel that he needs to be released. Or completely ignorant. Probably that second one. How about calling for another trial instead of exoneration? Oh wait, you watched a slanted documentary, you clearly know everything; just like the people that signed that stupid petition.
It’s insane how many netflixers think they know he’s innocent from watching this doc. I wish these people would go back to watching bojack horsemen and stfu.
@Captain_America it really is. I wish it were surprising, but social justice warriors are gonna find a cause and stick to it no matter how poorly thought out it is. There were clearly some heinously inappropriate (and likely even criminal) acts by the sheriff’s department and/or the prosecution. But it’s a shame that we didn’t get to see this story told by film makers with enough integrity to not blatantly slant it for the sake of sensationalism.
Even if he admits the crime and totally did it, I would like to see a retrial and potentially jury nullification. If the state of Wisconsin refuses to acknowledge their ineptitude, as a juror I would set him free (even if I thought he was guilty) just to take a stand against police impropriety. Convicting him rewards the police for their terrible efforts.
I would have no issues with him being granted an appeal and a change of venue. Or, as you put it, a retrial. But if you’re saying that you, as a juror, would set a man that you know is guilty of raping and murdering a young woman, just to get back at a couple of dirty cops, that is abhorrently shameful.
Convicting him (if he’s guilty) doesn’t reward the police. It punishes the the rapist and murderer. The police should be held accountable on their own, not at the expense of freeing a criminal.
@Fartakiss even if I thought he was guilty..
That is completely asinine view point but sadly not surprising for uproxx.
While I think a retrial would be the more appropriate remedy in general, I think if anything it might be more difficult to give him a fair trial now.
Yeah good point especially with so many netflixers ‘knowing’ he’s innocent.
I don’t exactly have the power to prosecute the crooked ass cops in WI, and being a juror is the most influence any average person could exert on them. Therefore, I would use that power to benefit the greatest good and embarrass the shady ass police.
@Fartakiss 1f you would even consider for one second letting a guilty rapist and murderer go free so you can make some moot point then you’re as ignorant as you are abhorrent.
I’m wondering…since Dassey’s case is working its way through the Federal Courts, I wonder if Obama has any authority to grant a pardon in that regard… I think I need to research this.
How is this documentary slanted? To say that there is not enough information here to determine that he is innocent is ludicrous. There is more information here than the jury received. These aren’t actors, everything shown is real footage of the real people. From the coerced interrogations of Brendan by the police and the investigator of his own lawyer to the inconsistent testimony of the cops involved and their facial expressions when they were called on it to the sheer lack of evidence to support the theory of the crime…all of it screams his innocence. I would argue that those who have a half a brain and a bit of common sense could deduce that the county had a vested interest in discrediting him to escape the lawsuit and the potential of charges that could have been brought on these cops if it was proven that they mishandled the first conviction. I would also argue that if based on the 10 hours of footage offered we can’t make a decision of whether he is innocent then a jury can’t make that determination either since they have a lot less information than those who watched the doc. I absolutely believe this man was framed and a gross miscarriage of justice has occurred here. As did the 200K people that signed the petition. A man’s life and a 16 year old kids life is over. I am outraged