Since the documentary premiered on December 18, almost 200,000 people have signed an online petition posted to Change.org calling for a presidential pardon, and almost 20,000 have signed a WhiteHouse.org petition.
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In an interview with TODAY, the filmmakers of Netflix’s hit documentary series “Making a Murderer” sat down with the anchors to discuss breaking news from the case.
More than 240,000 people have signed a petition on change.org seeking a pardon for the two men.
“Based on the evidence in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, the justice system embarrassingly failed both men, completely ruining their entire lives”, the White House petition reads.
The juror told the filmmakers they had voted to convict Avery of murder, but claimed they had done so under pressure.
Although Avery was found not guilty on the charge of mutilating a corpse, the jury still decided the man who previously spent 18 years behind bars for a rape he didn’t commit was guilty of murdering Halbach, as well as illegally possessing a firearm.
The White House petition is asking President Obama to issue a full pardon for Avery and Dassey for what viewers have deemed “their wrongful conviction” in connection to Halbach’s murder.
Avery has maintained his innocence after being jailed for life without parole, and has the last word in Making a Murderer, saying: “When you know you’re innocent, you will keep on going”.
The co-creators said that one of the jurors in the Steven Avery case disagreed with the guilty verdict, and felt that the Manitowoc, Wisconsin authorities framed Avery.
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“(The juror) told us that they believe Steven Avery was not proven guilty”, said Laura Ricciardi, who filmed the series with Moira Demos. Two years later, when he brought a $36 million lawsuit against the county, the sheriff and the district attorney for damages, he was then accused of the murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach, a photographer for Auto Trader magazine. He is now serving a life sentence at Wisconsin’s Waupun Correctional Institution. Others have targeted former Calumet County prosecutor Ken Kratz for successfully winning Avery and Dassey’s convictions.
