Citizen Journalism could potentially save Steven Avery from spending the rest of his life in prison.
The docu-series "Making a Murderer" has millions of people debating on whether Steven Avery is guilty of murder or not. For those of you who do not know what "Making a Murderer" is, here's a brief summary: a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin named Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1985 and served 18 years of his life for it. He was released from prison in 2003. Just four short years later, in 2007, he was on trial for the murder of a woman named Teresa Halbach. According to the docu-series, Avery may have been framed for the murder. Despite this argument, Avery was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"Making a Murderer" has caused thousands of people on the Internet to take this case into their own hands. A petition for Avery's immediate pardon and release from prison has gained over 460,000 signatures from people all over the Internet. Fan theories have been posted all over the Internet as well, stating numerous potential explanations for what really happened to Halbach. One theory, in particular, has caused a huge stir on the Internet and is even causing people to look deeper into Avery's case.
Another theory in regards to a picture of Halbach before her murder has gone viral—so much so that one of Avery's lawyers has seen it and stated that it could have helped him in Avery's case.
The impact that citizen journalists are having on this case is astounding. People who worked on the case are saying that those who are reporting on their theories could potentially help Avery get a retrial. Without the docu-series and/or the theories surrounding it, the public may not have ever found out who Steven Avery was or learned about the potential mistreatment he faced during his investigation and trial.
The public can debate all they want about whether Avery was really guilty of murdering Halbach, but they can't deny that citizen journalists have caused Avery's story to be heard on a broader level than ever before. The threat of journalists seeming biased in their reporting often shies the mainstream media from delving into cases like this, but the beauty of citizen journalists is that they have more freedom state their thoughts on a matter, leaving them with room to theorize rather than have cold, hard facts to back their stories up.
When stories like Avery's come up, it's crucial for people to become citizen journalists. Journalism serves as a check and balance to those in power, and it takes more than just the professionals to check those in power properly. It's because of the people who are standing up and becoming citizen journalists that Steven Avery's case is even getting talked about. Who knows—maybe citizen journalists will be there to thank if Avery gets a retrial, is found innocent and walks out of prison a freed man.
