The start of the new year meant many things for Americans. It is clear that hitting the gym wasn’t the only thing people across the country had in common as January begun. In fact, it was quite the opposite of getting off the couch and getting some physical activity that sparked national attention. Netflix’s newest phenomenon “Making a Murderer” was just that.
The series, produced by Laura Ricciardi and Moria Demos, was filmed over a 10-year span focuses on the wrongful conviction of Wisconsin man Steven Avery who was arrested in 1985 for sexual assault but 18 years later was proven innocent through DNA testing. Not even two years after his release, Avery was put back in the cell for suspected murder. The rest you’ll have to see for yourself.
Within eight short days, it seemed as if almost everyone in the country had devoted 10 hours of their lives to binge watch the series. Most viewers even took their opinions surrounding the series to social media and all shared a common thought: that the U.S. Judicial System is in peril and something needs to be done. Fast. For millennials, this issue is honestly something we have seen in passing but not that has been really discussed or examined in a matter before “Making a Murderer” was released and quite frankly, this was exactly what needed to be done.
Laura Ricciardi, one of the documentarians of the series, stated in an interview with TIME that they used this series as a way to show viewers what it is like to be accused in this system. According to a study done by Ohio State University, 10,000 innocent people are convicted each year for crimes they had no involvement in what so ever. As a college student, I cannot imagine being accused of something I did not do, especially something as serious as murder. I don’t think that many twentysomethings have really considered this until the release of the series. Obviously, the American Judicial System will do what it can to make sure American citizens believe that it is doing what is in the public’s best interest when clearly that is not always the case. As the up-and-coming generations that will one day lead America, it is of the upmost importance that we take note of things such as this that are happening in our country.
To me, it is quite odd that the suspicious ways this case was handled weren't discussed in greater detail on a national scale until this moment, almost eight years after the initial trial. However, Ricciardi and Demos spent ten years of their lives trying to show the world what was really going on behind the doors of our judicial system. The amount of detail and time that was put into making this docu-series is just amazing and is, in my opinion, exactly what needed to be done in order to really open up the eyes of people around the country as to what goes on behind closed doors.
I don’t believe that Ricciardi and Demos expected this much buzz and reaction from their series. What they did is something that needs to be noticed and viewed by every millennial in the country and to put it lightly, I personally think they are off to a good start. If we do not take the time to understand what is being done to innocent people in America, then nothing is going to change. However, over 300,000 people and counting have signed a petition asking for a pardon for Steven Avery. This is just the start of how this series is making a change in the lives of innocent people in America, and that is why we should thank Ricciardi and Demos for dedicating ten years of their lives to show us the process for the accused in this system. We should thank them for making it possible to save innocent people from spending their lives away from their families and the world, in a prison cell.
