The White House responds to ‘Making a Murderer’ petition in predictable fashion

After bingeing on the Netflix docu-series Making a Murderer, thousands of people signed petitions for Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, who were found guilty of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, to be pardoned by President Obama.

The case is drawing attention because of a Netflix documentary that has raised questions about the investigation surrounding the case.

But the White House is using the petition to promote Obama’s support for a criminal justice overhaul, one of Obama’s top legislative priorities for his final year.

Because of this and because of Avery’s and Dassey’s status as state prisoners, the President is powerless when it comes to freeing the pair. However, it’s not long after he’s released that Avery finds himself the prime suspect in the murder of Teresa Halbach. Under a self-created system, a petition that is launched on the White House’s site must receive an official response from the White House after said petition reaches 100,000 signatures.

Yet, the White House took the opportunity to talk about the president’s work on reform of the criminal justice system. The statement further explained that any pardon would need to be issued at the state level.

The statement goes on to state that during his time in office Obama has granted 184 commutations (noted as more than the last five presidents combined) and issued 66 pardons.

A petition for Avery’s exoneration has now been publically addressed by the White House.

Those flaws include the potential for investigators to coerce false confessions from suspects, and the possibility of errors in analyzing forensic evidence, Findley said, though he stopped short of saying that’s what happened in the Avery and Dassey cases.

That means the Wisconsin state authorities – a.k.a., the ones the docuseries claims are corrupt and behind the false imprisonment of both men.

“If you are seeking clemency for a state criminal conviction… you should contact the Governor or other appropriate authorities of the state where you reside or where the conviction occurred (such as the state board of pardons and paroles) to determine whether any relief is available to you under state law”. Dassey was also given a life sentence, but has a chance for early release in 2048.