The imprisoned stars of Netflix’s Making A Murderer may be freed thanks to a US midterm election result.
Democrat Tony Evers gained control of governorship in Wisconsin today (November 7), which is the state that the true-crime documentary is set in, and with his appointment comes fresh demands to grant a pardon.
Jerome Buting, Steven Avery’s trial lawyer for the murder of Teresa Halbach, has called for the Governor-elect to free Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was also convicted for involvement in the crime.
Wisconsin: your Reform Era begins now.
1. Dismiss lawsuit challenging ObamaCare,
2. Fix roads decaying under Walker;
3. Reduce prison population;
4. Investigate culture of corruption in Manitowoc County;
5. Open files from TH investigation.
6. Reverse SA & BD convictions.— Jerome Buting (@JButing) November 7, 2018
Buting said that the Evers should “investigate the culture of corruption in Manitowoc County” and asked him to reopen files from the Halbach investigation in order to reverse the convictions.
The lawyer had previously written that Governor Walker and his Attorney General were the two top officials “determined to keep SA & BD convicted.”
It’s an unlikely development in a real-life saga that’s gripped the world since the first series was released in 2015.
Part 1 documents Avery’s false conviction of sexual assault in 1985, which took 18 years to overturn, and later focuses on his and his nephew’s conviction for Halbach’s murder in 2005.
In the second series, tenacious lawyer Kathleen Zellner thoroughly examines the Halbach investigation and unearths new evidence she believes will prove the men’s innocence.
The new Wisconsin governor, who took control with 49.6 per cent of the vote, is now required to create a pardon board by the state’s constitution. This is something that his predecessor, the Republican Scott Walker, failed to do.
As The Sun reports, the elected Governor can issue pardons. Walker previously said that he would not get involved in the Avery case. “Just because a documentary on TV says something doesn’t mean that’s actually what the evidence shows,” he told WQOW television.
Making A Murder Part 2 is out now on Netflix.