ABC Legal Anchor Dan Abrams on Making A Murderer: Avery Guilty, Dassey Innocent
Not since the OJ Simpson case brought the nation to a virtual standstill, has the American public so fiercely and antagonistically debated facts, procedures and testimony in a state murder trial (who knew we could have another high profile battle over EDTA?). From the cover of People Magazine to daily coverage on cable news programs, to offices around America, the question dominating our discourse seems to be whether Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach on October 31, 2005. The fallout from the 10 part documentary so intense that many have taken to social media and elsewhere to lambast and even threaten the prosecutor from the case.
Filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi have created a compelling and well-produced piece of advocacy intended to lead viewers to conclude that Avery, who previously served 18 years for a rape he did not commit, is innocent of this crime as well, or at least that the system failed him miserably. Each episode begins with old pictures of little boy Steven and much of the series focuses on his defense team’s efforts and strategy as well as Avery’s heartbroken family.
Much of the country now divided over whether “they” did it — they, being Avery and his then sixteen-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey who eventually confessed to sexually assaulting Halbach and aiding Avery in the murder. Pro-prosecution “law and order” types tend to highlight evidence against Avery and inevitably lump in Dassey based on his statements to police, while the filmmakers and those inclined to accept Avery’s account also seek to conflate the two cases by inferring that Avery’s miscarriage of justice led to a second inequity when Dassey falsely admitted to committing the crime with Avery.
The reality is likely more nuanced but equally troubling.
