I just finished this and agree that this is disturbing. To me, this murder couldn’t have happened the way it was presented. Where is all of the blood evidence that should have been found after such a gruesome murder? I am still not convinced that Steven Avery is innocent but pretty sure that the evidence was planted. The treatment of Brendan Dassey makes me sick.
Any thoughts on other suspects? Brendan’s brother and stepfather both gave off a vibe that make me question their alibis.
Check this out: http://time.com/4165678/making-a-murderer-petition/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook
Apparently a petition is being circulated to pardon Steven Avery, and has over 100,000 signatures already!
“We can all say we will never commit a crime but we can never guarantee that someone will never accuse us of a crime. And if that happens, good luck in this criminal justice system.”
(Jerry Buting, Steven Avery’s attorney). Best line from the film. Haunting and powerful.
This docuseries hits that irrational fear button I have of being wrongfully accused of a crime I didn’t commit. I cannot even fathom the depths of despair that their parents have endured.
^^Thanks for posting the petition link upthread!
Another interesting read regarding the perspective of the film makers: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/03/how-we-made-making-a-murderer-filmmakers-moira-demos-and-laura-ricciardi-pull-back-the-curtain.html?via=desktop&source=email
The documentary does highlight a very real flaw in our judicial system that, unfortunately, occurs much too often. Once something goes into the record, it is so very difficult to alter the decreed ‘facts’, regardless of whether they are facts or fiction. The judicial system is designed to do the best it can, but several of its most lofty and appealing pillars are often sacrificed in the actual practice of ‘justice’.
I don’t think I have found a better system, but that does not mean that there isn’t room for improvement, compassion, and checks and balances.
I haven’t seen this series, and as I don’t have Netflix I probably won’t. But we do have the documentary, After Innocence, which follows several men, and one woman, after they have been proven innocent by the Innocence Project. It was the most depressing movie I’ve ever seen. All of these people were completely innocent of any crimes. The typical story went something like this: a young man in his late teens or early 20’s is arrested for a murder and/or rape on very flimsy evidence. After 20+ years in prison, his case is taken up by the Innocence Project. They have a hell of a time getting a new trial even with exceedingly strong evidence. They do get a new trial and the man is exonerated. Then he goes back to his community with no money (there is no compensation for innocent people jailed for decades), no job skills, no adult skills, and a record. Yes, a record. Because even after exoneration, it is difficult to have the record cleared. In some cases, the man has to pay a few thousand dollars, if it’s even possible. Everyone in his community remembers him as the murderer/rapist. He can’t get a job because of his record and reputation.
And these are the lucky few, who are exonerated. There is a scene in the movie of the Innocence Project office. An intern has the job of going through the letters that come in, and separating the ones from people on death row. He opened a file drawer and showed an enormous backlog of thousands of letters that hadn’t even been opened yet.
Very, very depressing.
I heard this guy speak at a legal conference and it was the most disturbing and riveting thing I have ever heard. I would strongly recommend his book. He was falsely imprisoned in Texas for 25 years! The Innocence Project finally got him out.
I am finished Episode 6 of Making a Murderer and I am horrified by the system.
It’s all creepily reminiscent of the book “The Trial” written by Kafka in the early 20th century, about a man arrested and prosecuted for a crime that the faceless authority won’t even specify. It’s absurd but also terrifying!
According to one of the local news stations, there will be a segment about the show tomorrow morning on CBS News This Morning.
I just watched the first episode. So far, mainly what has struck me is how Wisconsin-ish the people are. Duh. They’re in Wisconsin. But things I didn’t expect, such as the fact that Steven Avery’s dad’s accent is the same as my father-in-law’s. As for the substance, the one line that really hit me was when Steven Avery’s PD said, “Steven didn’t even OWN any underwear.”
We just finished this. There were so many shocking moments in the series. I tried to remember that we were only getting one side of the story and the filmmakers made this thru their own lens (whatever that was).
I do find it odd that the description of the crime did not match physical evidence, that there was no blood etc.
For those who think Avery is innocent, do you think the cops actually killed Teresa? Or she was killed by some other person and they took advantage to pin it on Avery? And she just happened to have been at his house that same day? That seems so unlikely.
On the other hand, nothing we saw in the documentary pointed to him being a random killer. I could definitely believe he would have had some domestic violence problems perhaps.
In the end, I kind of think he did do the murder, and it took place differently than was presented. But I do think the cops tried to paint evidence and do everything they could to ensure a conviction, which was a mistake.
I think Brendan clearly deserves a new trial. It is heartbreaking to watch him confess to a gruesome murder and then ask if he can get back to school in time for a project? He clearly does not understand what is happening. And what was up with the defense investigator coaxing yet another confession out of him?
Here is a good piece on info left out of the show:
http://onmilwaukee.com/movies/articles/evidenceagainstavery.html
Here’s a good synopsis written in 2006.
http://www.milwaukeemag.com/2006/05/01/blood-simple/
I would think he could appeal the DNA on the bullet because the lab tech admitted the test was compromised.
I would also think Brendan would have some sort of appeal due to his poor defense and his own competency.
The documentary was well produced and entertaining. It really manipulated the viewer into believing the producers’ agenda.
The documentary implication about the needle stick in the top of the blood vial is ridiculous. All blood vials have a needle stick in the top from the needle and tube inserted by the tech who obtains blood from the donor/suspect. That tells me what I need to know about the documentarians. Poor research.
The documentary doesn’t mention they found Steve Avery’s DNA in TEN places on the SUV. He had a cut on his hand. He was probably wearing gloves that were cut too, hence, no finger prints. Also finger prints are often not found if suspect’s hands are very dirty or greasy. The documentary also did not mention that Theresa’s phone, camera and purse were found on the burn barrel next to Steve’s trailer.
All three of the Avery sons, Steven and his brothers have convictions for sex offenses. One brother raped both his own daughters. Steve, at 43, was alleged to have a sexual relationship with a 17 year old niece. I find it hard to believe that the Avery parents are sweet old people as they are portrayed. The documentary was misleading by saying Steve spent 18 years wrongfully convicted. He spent the first six years doing time for the attempted abduction at gunpoint of his distant female cousin. Remember in the documentary he blows that incident off by saying “the gun wasn’t loaded.”
Reddit has some pretty interesting discussions that bring new details. Apparently two women came forward during the trial to say he had raped them and threatened to kill them if they told. That could not be used in court. Steve Avery threatened to kill his ex wife while he was in prison. She divorced him and married Brendan’s bio father. Steve’s sister is Brendan’s mother. What a chaotic family.
I think the evidence was tampered with and “enhanced” by one or two sheriff’s deputies. Unfortunately he probably deserves an appeal. But I think he did it. I don’t think he did it in the trailer or garage though. There were over 300 hours of testimony and 900 pieces of evidence. I don’t think the documentary could come close to portraying the crime accurately and they really didn’t try to.
Geez. Every time I don’t want a draft to be saved…I just typed a bunch and lost it. I’ll summarize it and say I think he’s guilty but some of the evidence is tainted. The documentary purposely left out details that make Steve Avery appear culpable.
This magazine article from 2006 has a timeline that makes sense:
Looks like no pardon from the White House: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/arts/television/no-making-a-murderer-pardon-from-obama-white-house-says.html?ref=television
We watched the documentary over Christmas. In my mind, Steven Avery may have commited the murder, but the investigations, and especially the interogation of Brendan, look very flawed. Seems like enough problems with the case to conclude “reasonable doubt”, but i know that juries in these types of cases are desperate to put someone behind bars, and Steven Avery isn’t a very likable character. The documentary is very biased, but does raise good questions. It will be interesting to see whether Brendan can get a new trial.
I am very tired of watching or listening to shows like this one or Serial where material information is left out. I watched
The Making a Murderer show and I thought the two guys are guilty. But the show left things out. They were guilty.
I guess these shows don’t sell if the guys are guilty so stuff is left out.