“Making a Murderer”, the Netflix docuseries launched in early December, has become a phenomenon rife with legal controversies. On Tuesday, a petition addressed to US Pres. Barack Obama has been made, requesting the president to free the main subject of the documentary for unlawful conviction.
Titled “Free Steven Avery”, the petition was made via Change.org by Michael Seyedian after watching “Making a Murderer”. It now has collected more than 290,000 supporters agreeing to give pardon to Steven Avery. Avery is the central subject of the series who was convicted of killing Teresa Halbach in 2007.
“There is a documentary series on Netflix called "Making a Murderer". After viewing it, I am outraged with the injustices which have been allowed to compound and left unchecked in the case of Steven Avery of Manitowoc County in Wisconsin, U.S.A.” he commented.
According to Seyedian, Avery suffered “unconstitutional mistreatment” from the local law enforcement. He further notes that what happened to Avery is “completely unacceptable” and should be regarded as “an abomination of due process”.
He asserts that Avery should be pardoned immediately, while also suggesting that the Manitowoc County officials responsible for his two wrong imprisonments should pay for their crimes at the “highest extent of the US criminal and civil justice systems”.
Another petition made through Whitehouse.gov is asking for the same support to be given to Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey. Dassey was also convicted for the murder of Halbach who was also facing a life sentence in prison.
“Based on the evidence in the Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer", the justice system embarrassingly failed both men, completely ruining their entire lives,” a statement from the petition reads.
Published on Dec. 20, the petition has now collected over 90,000 signatures.
“Making a Murderer” is a 10-episode series which hails from creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos and debuted Dec. 18 on Netflix. The documentary, according to The Wrap, follows the case of Steven Avery, a man imprisoned for sexual assault and was later exonerated after the late discovery of DNA evidence. He was released in 2003 and was charged for a separate crime. In 2007, he was convicted for murdering Halbach.
Over the past few weeks, the series also gained attention from Twitter users and celebrities as well.
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