By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief 

If you’ve ever had a run in with the law, I sure hope it wasn’t in the state of Wisconsin, because you’d likely be reading this from a jail cell where you’re stuck for a crime you didn’t commit.

Over the holiday break, Netflix released a documentary show entitled “Making a Murderer” that sparked countless conversations around the web centered on the current state of the criminal justice system.

The documentary, which was filmed over the course of ten years, followed a Wisconsin man named Steven Avery and his experiences with the law enforcement agencies in and surrounding the area of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

Avery was convicted of sexual assault, attempted murder, and false imprisonment back in 1985 and served 18 years of his life in prison. That’s a good thing, right?

Well, it would be if he actually committed those crimes. Avery had to wait until technology advanced enough to the point when he could be proven innocent by the presence of DNA from another individual.

So, he was acquitted after spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. This didn’t make Steven too happy, and so he sued the department that put him in prison for $36 million. As it so happens, that didn’t make that department too happy either, so what happened next became the inspiration for the widely popular Netflix documentary.

Two years after Avery was released from prison, he found himself back on the radar of his favorite law enforcement officers. This time, however, it was for a crime much more severe: murder.

Teresa Halbach worked for Auto Trader magazine and traveled to Avery’s property on Oct. 31, 2005 to shoot some photos of a van for an assignment.

Her vehicle and charred bone fragments were found on the property about a week later, and you can bet that Steven Avery was the first one the police had their eyes on.

The Manitowoc County district attorney requested that the neighboring authorities from Calumet County lead the investigation to avoid a conflict of interest. Great, that should even things out, no?

Wrong again. During the week long search of Avery’s trailer, authorities found nothing until a few days into the search, conveniently when Manitowoc officials were on scene helping. Yes, the very same department that mistakenly put Avery in prison for two decades was allowed to participate in the investigation.

Coincidentally enough, on the very same day that the Manitowoc officials showed up, a crucial piece of evidence was found “in plain sight” in Avery’s bedroom: the key to Halbach’s vehicle. That was the break investigators needed, and they arrested Avery shortly after. It’s interesting how the most valuable piece of evidence that was “in plain sight” wasn’t found until days into the search, and by a Manitowoc official to boot. What’s the word for that feeling again … Ah, yes: suspicious.

To make things even more interesting, Avery’s learning-disabled nephew, 16-year-old Brendan Dassey was then interrogated by police – Manitowoc County police – at school. Here’s where things get really unethical. Dassey spent multiple hours being interrogated by police investigators with neither a parent nor a lawyer present.

So what did Dassey say? Only exactly what the police needed him to in order to fit the narrative they had chosen to follow.

Dassey confessed to having helped Avery murder, mutilate, and burn the body of Halbach. It’s too bad the confession didn’t actually match up with any of the (nonexistent) evidence in the trailer, but we already know that evidence is an overrated concept to Manitowoc County investigators. What sort of people that are supposed to be the forefront of justice interrogate a learning-disabled minor for hours without a parent present? Cowards, that’s who.

And so ensued the lengthy investigation that eventually landed Avery and Dassey life sentences: Avery without chance for early release, and Dassey with a possible early release date in 2048.
Never mind the overwhelming evidence that basically projects police tampering on the big screen; the court believes they got the right guys.

Never mind the fact that the lead prosecutor in both cases was later fired and publicly embarrassed for having been involved in several sexting scandals when he wrote sexually explicit messages to domestic violence victims. Nothing but the cream of the crop when it comes to Wisconsin criminal justice officials.

The thing that really gets to me about this case though is the amount of media coverage that occurred and how it had a direct impact on the juries. There was basically zero presumption of innocence in either Avery or Dassey’s cases, which led to predetermined biases from the juries and probably directly contributed to the guilty verdicts that were handed down.

Think about it: these guys’ pictures were all over every media outlet in the country for a significant period of time. What do you think that does to people watching? It makes them think they are already guilty. So much for a fair trial and being innocent until proven guilty.