Before I ventured into the new Netflix documentary series, Making a Murderer, I felt as though I had a good grasp on the legal system. I felt confident in my ability to understand justice and how it was served, and I really didn’t think very much about the corrupt nature of the government in some cases. As a former political science and pre-law major, I felt confident that this series wouldn’t really surprise me or change my opinions about the law and how it’s practiced. So, naturally, I ended up being dead wrong.
Throughout this documentary series, I was taken on a ten hour rollercoaster that had my head reeling and my emotions frayed. I wanted justice for Steven Avery, I wanted answers from the Manitowoc County Police Department, and quite frankly I really wanted to know the truth about what had happened to Teresa Halbach. It was obvious by the end of the series, however, that it wasn’t going to be that simple.
The case seemed so cut and dry, with the good guys being really good, and the bad guys being really bad. This left me feeling a little betrayed by the editors because, obviously, court cases don’t work like that. There’s always a grey area, and the way the series is presented, that grey area takes a back seat. Avery is portrayed as a misunderstood man who is framed for everything, and the police are portrayed with only deceitful intentions. Now don’t get me wrong, things like this certainly happen in small towns and it was no surprise that, without DNA evidence, Avery was found guilty, despite the lack of evidence against him. There was no definitive proof, so they were able to make sure he served time.
That being said, I think the thing that stuck out to me the most in my watching of Making a Murderer, is how characters changed over the long expanse of the documentary. Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey are showed as incredibly tragic people, and I felt bad for him from the start. Avery’s time in prison and the accusations that he killed Halbach caused me to almost feel bad for him. I can’t imagine having my life taken away from me for 18 years and then being taken through the whole process of accusations and court hearings all over again. It would be incredibly tiring and bring back a ton of horrible memories, whether those accusations where true or not.
I wanted Steven Avery so desperately to be innocent of his crime, not because of the thought of having to sit in prison again like the first time, but because I didn’t want to believe that he had been another person affected by the legal system in a negative way. A main thing that is talked about in Making a Murderer, is the fact that the whole Avery family had been labelled as “trash” and that Steven had been targeted for his reputation. Though he had been innocent of the first crime, spending 18 years institutionalized still has a profound effect on the psyche.
Ultimately, watching this series made me think more about my hometown. It made me think about the people who I knew with tragic pasts and how they seemed stuck in a rut of misfortune. People need to think more before they speak, not base judgment on blind faith, and learn to question everything. Only by doing these things can we hope to avoid the situation that really can truly make a murderer.