Unless you've steered clear of social media for the past two weeks, you know or at least have heard of the heart-wrenching story of Steven Avery, an unfortunate victim of the judicial system in the Netflix documentary, "Making a Murderer." Taking place in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, this ten episode series documents the repeated conviction of Avery, first, in 1985 for the rape of Penny Ann Beernsten, and then again in 2005 for the murder of Teresa Halbach. When Avery was declared innocent for the first crime after spending 18 years in jail, he was seen as a victim of a corrupt system complete with a police force on a mission to make sure he remained behind bars, rightfully or not. However, when Halbach first went missing only two years after Avery's release, he was immediately seen as a suspect, and once again he sat through endless trials determining his fate.
Throughout this series, the directors, Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi, demonstrate reason after reason as to why Avery couldn't possibly be the monstrous murderer the courts declared him to be. From the picture painted by this documentary, it seems as though the Manitowoc police have framed Avery, even going so far as to pulling a false confession out of Avery's nephew and supposed accomplice, Brendan Dassey. It's established that the legal system has easily and efficiently taken advantage of two highly uneducated individuals, successfully destroying a family in the process.
Millions, including myself, have watched this emotional series and felt fury towards the one system that is supposed to protect us from unjust situations. The response to this story has transformed into such an uproar that thousands have signed petitions begging President Obama to seek pity on the accused. However, as tantalizing as this testimony is, we must remember that the directors have the ability to shape and configure the information presented to their satisfaction.
This is important because as soon as "Making a Murderer" became public knowledge, articles began popping up proclaiming the amount of culpable facts against Avery that were left out of the documentary. Through these accusations, it appears that not only was Halbach's DNA found on the bullet discovered in the defendant's garage, but that bullet was an exact match to Avery's gun. Also, there was evidence that Avery had called Halbach's phone multiple times the day of her murder using *67 to hide his identity, and had even asked specifically for Halbach to be the photographer that came to the salvage yard. This information suggests that Steven had somewhat of an obsession with the victim, and could have premeditated the crime. Other accusations explain that Avery's sweat was actually found on Halbach's car, something that cops would have had a very difficult time obtaining and planting.
The list goes on of accusations and evidence reportedly left out of this popular and engrossing series. Though I can't positively proclaim if Avery and Dassey are either innocent or guilty, I can say that this documentary was a prime example of the issues and corruption apparent in our judicial system. Every episode was full of legal mistakes, negligence towards the defendants, and a clear agenda on the prosecution side to get a confession and admittance of guilt, through whatever unlawful means necessary. "Making a Murderer" caused me to speculate on just how many poor or innocent people in this country are victims of a system where constitutional rights seem to be completely disregarded.
If you haven't viewed this aggravating account, I advise you that instead of purely rooting for Avery's innocence, pay special attention to how the case was handled. This is due to the fact that no, I cannot give you a solid answer to solve the infamous murder of Teresa Halbach. But does our justice system need an extreme and righteous makeover? That's a definite yes.
