"Making A Murderer," the Netflix series that has America questioning our criminal justice system and left viewers with one question, "Did Stephen Avery kill Teresa Halbach?"
The series struck many, as it ends leaving viewers angry and disheartened by Stephen's story, and for some, begging for justice. The series struck so many, that 130,000 signatures were collected on a White House petition asking the president to grant full pardons for both Stephen Avery and Brendan Dassey's case.
The 10-part series is thrilling, chilling and is shaped to defend Avery along with giving viewers a glimpse into Stephen's side of the story. Avery was wrongfully convicted back in 1985 with the rape of Penny Beernsten and exonerated after spending 18 years in prison. After spending two years as a free man, he was back in prison for the murder of Teresa Halbach.
What was so controversial about the series was that yes, there was some pieces of evidence left out, however, there is a significant amount of evidence pointing to both his guilt and his innocence. However, unlike any other reality television show, "Making A Murderer" presented America with a side of the criminal justice system that hasn't been exposed to many, but was proven throughout the series. Avery's lawyers, Dean Strang and Jerry Buting who are two of the best defense attorneys in the State of Wisconsin, found sufficient evidence that not only leads America to question our justice system but also proved the many flaws and injustices made by law enforcement regarding Stephen Avery's case. The most compelling and mind-blowing of them all was the blood tube found in evidence storage that had a recognizable hole the size of a needle, suggesting that law enforcement may have tampered with evidence to help frame Avery.
Brendan Dassey, Avery's 16-year-old nephew with an IQ of 73, forced to leave class one day to be interrogated regarding the murder and hasn't been a free man since. Interrogators, however, shaped their questions in order to form the story that they wanted to hear. Interrogators asked questions such as, "Okay Brendan, what happened to her head?" and "We know there is something else that happened with the head." When their questions should have been shaped to the degree of, "What happened to Teresa?" or "Did you see your uncle do anything to Teresa?" Instead of assuming that something had happened to her head. While nobody may be sure of Dassey's guilt or innocence, the interrogators questions should have been better shaped for a young man with an IQ much lower than the average individual.
While the series leads many to question the system, put down the system, or not trust in the system, which is understandable due to the copious instances of misconduct presented in "Making A Murderer," we must not forget the point of having a justice system. The justice system makes mistakes all the time, as do doctors, engineers and CPA's, however, that does not give America a reason loose faith in the system.
