Let me start by saying...
Hello, I am obsessed with Making A Murderer.
I do not know how to casually like something. So naturally, when Making A Murderer came out, it took over my life in probably the most unhealthy way. Anything that is criminal justice or murder related is right up my alley. Not only did this show take up 99% of my brain, twitter, and conversations for the duration of my watching the series but, it also made me basically become a lawyer and expert on our justice system (at least, I thought so).
So here we go, my final thoughts on the Netflix documentary, Making A Murderer.
The main thought I have had over this entire documentary is...
Whether Steven Avery is innocent or not, he should've been found not guilty because the amount of reasonable doubt was overwhelming and the police's failure to look into any other possible suspects in the homicide of Teresa Halbach was excessively obvious and a gross injustice.
THE PEOPLE....
- Steven Avery is the main person in this case besides the victim obviously. However, I do believe he is a victim to an extent. He was the main lead for the police in this investigation even though the police always said in this case that often the killer is close to the person. Not to mention, once the police heard Avery's name they never looked into any other leads and tried to have him in custody 30 minutes after finding one small piece of evidence. He also currently was suing the Manitowoc County Police for imprisoning him for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit and which they knew. He also didn't want to settle out of court because he wanted to make an example of the justice system's flaws. The time that the murder of Teresa Halbach was committed was around a strained time between the police and the Avery's to begin with.
-Teresa Halbach is the murder victim. She was mid-twenties and a photographer for Auto Trader Magazine and had previously been to the Avery's residence multiple times (and never showed up dead). Also, the day she was there she also had other stops to make at multiple different residences. Also, she and Steven Avery had really only had seconds of contact so he really had no motivation to desire to hurt her in any way.
-Not only was Brendan Dassey's confession a perfect example of how the police often question for a confession rather than the truth but also, an example of manipulation. The police shaped his answers and trapped him into a confession of guilt through their yes or no questions. They also obtained his confession by letting him answer their questions under the false assumption that if he said what they wanted that he could go home that very afternoon. Not to mention, they knew he was a quiet boy who was easy to push around and had a less than average IQ.
- Len Kachinsky, Brendan Dassey's original defense lawyer, is a poor excuse for a lawyer because he violated Dassey's rights and his duty as council to defend his client regardless of his personal views. In fact, Dassey tried to explain to him that his original statement of innocence to the police (including a timeline of his events that afternoon) was the truth and Kachinsky helping him prove it; he told Dassey he could only help him if he admitted his guilt. What kind of defense lawyer is that?
- Ken Kratz is my least favorite of all the people in this documentary. He is a poor excuse for a DA. Our laws state that every person is innocent until proved guilty. Which means in a trial the defense doesn't have to prove innocence, the prosecution has to prove guilt. The case Kratz has built to supposedly "prove" Avery's guilt in the murder of Teresa Halbach was spotty at best. They never looked into anyone but Steven Avery, they never had any physical evidence of Teresa Halbach every being anywhere inside of his garage or house, and they also never had a solid theory on where or how Teresa Halbach was murdered. Not to mention, the sexually explicit texts he was found sending to a client in the midst of his Brendan Dassey Trial. Plus, his voice just gets on my nerves in general.
- Dean Strang and Jerry Buting are my favorites in this entire documentary. They made a damn good case regardless of the verdict. They poked holes in every single theory the prosecution had. They fought for Steven Avery's freedom regardless of if they believed in his innocence. They disproved hundreds of things that the prosecution wrongfully stated and the tricks that they tried to pull. They are quality lawyers in my opinion and dare I say it, the dream team. They played fair throughout this entire trial and swayed more than half of the jurors minds to realize that the prosecution didn't really have a case and to raise them to question who the real killer of Teresa Halbach's is. Basically, if I ever get in trouble I am calling them.
THE CASE....
This case had a lot of flaws in it, so I am going to try and summarize the main issues within the case that I see as legitimate reasons to Steven Avery being wrongfully convicted guilty.
Let's start with the main evidence:
- Teresa Halbach's Rav 4: The car was found by a volunteer search party of Halbach's family on the Avery Auto Salvage Yard. First, I would like to say that it would be nearly impossible to find a car on that property within 12 hours because it spans acres and acres with hundreds of cars. These women found the car within 30 minutes on a part of the property that none of the Avery's use. Those volunteers also had previously talked to Manitowoc County Police and they were the only people searching that day who just happened to have the Sheriff's personal phone number. Not to mention, Steven Avery owns a car crusher and knows how to take apart a car so well that if he didn't want it found then it wouldn't be. When the volunteers found the car it was under some branches and that was it. Sounds super suspicious to me.
- Rav 4 Key in Avery's Bedroom: The key to Halbach's Rav 4 was found in Avery's bedroom after it had already been searched by neighboring county police around 4-6 times underneath a shoe. The key was found by a detective for Manitowoc County, which Manitowoc County was not supposed to be involved AT ALL because of conflict of interest with the whole Avery suing them for wrongfully putting him in jail for 18 years. Also, the key was found UNDER a shoe. That suggests that after days of moving, everything including the shoes that the key magically fell from a bookcase (that had also been roughly thrown around) and made its way under a shoe. That totally sounds plausible from an inanimate object, right?
- No Blood or DNA evidence in the Avery Residence: The prosecution issued multiple stories of the horrific things that happened to Halbach that day but they changed her murder location with every story. First, her throat was slit in the bedroom. Then, they said it was slit in the kitchen. Finally, they said she was shot in the head in the garage. But, the thing is they never found any blood, bloodstains, previously cleaned blood stains, or Halbach's DNA at all. They said it was because Steven Avery cleaned it up but he is not capable of knowing how to do that. As well as, they still found deer blood in the garage and Avery's DNA all over his own house which means that the place had never been cleaned because if it had then the deer blood and DNA would've not been possible to find. Moving on...
- Avery's Blood found in Rav 4: Yes, his blood was there! However, a tube of his blood that as to be kept by the county clerk back from when he was originally booked was sealed and prior to this murder it had been sliced open and a hole the size of hypodermic needle has been made in the top of the tube heavily suggesting that someone had sneakily and illegally taken a sample of his blood for the wrong reasons. Perhaps to frame him along with the key?
- Halbach's charred bones found in Avery's fire pit: This is the most damning piece of evidence found in this case. But yet again, the idea of this evidence is faulty. Pieces of Halbach's charred bones were also found about an hour away at a quarry pile and were found to have been very likely moved to Avery's fire pit. Also, if was proved that the fire that Avery had that night was not hot enough to have charred the bones to the extent that they were when the police discovered them. Which, I took to mean that possibly an accelerator was used to burn her bones that much and Avery didn't use one.
Finally let's discuss the other aspects of the case against Avery:
-Brendan Dassey's confession was actually not used at all even thought it helped the police make the arrest. Suspicious?
-Bobby Dassey, Brendan's brother, made the statement that he heard Avery joke about killing Halbach. However, this was a dirty trick played by the prosecution because the person who actually made this statement to the police was not testifying and indeed was not Bobby Dassey.
-Officer Andrew Colburn of the Manitowoc County Police just a day before Teresa Halbach is reported as missing and before any investigation has even been thought of, calls into 911 to run Halbach's plates as well as mention the make and model of a car before the 911 operator can give him his answer. Basically, he would've only know that information if he was standing behind it at the time he called in. ARE YOU GUYS READING THIS?
-Also, evidence in itself. When Ken Kratz was asked if Manitowoc police were framing Avery to get back at him over the $36 million lawsuit the county couldn't afford, he said it would be much easier to kill him then frame him as a killer and that he was 100% guilty. This was before they even had any sufficient evidence. SERIOUSLY, KRATZ?
-When the jury went to vote, the original vote was
7- Not Guilty
3- Guilty
2- Undecided
Can someone please explain to me what happened to that jury. Most people think the jury was compromised and after seeing how dirty Manitowoc County was willing to be, I believe it too.
My conclusion is that Steven Avery was framed to make sure he would go to prison for life. Whether he is guilty or innocent, there was foul play all around in his trial. He is still present day working to prove his innocence. I personally believe, you don't spend 10 years trying to be your own lawyer to prove your innocence if you are a truly guilty man.
P.S: Dean Strang, will you marry me?
