Netflix’s Making a Murderer has sparked a frenzied debate that shows no signs of dying down anytime soon. If anything, as more and more people watch the documentary and more evidence from Steven Avery’s trial makes its way online, the debate surrounding the justice system as a whole and Avery’s conviction in particular is growing more spirited with each passing week.
DON’T MISS: Making a Murderer: Where are they now?
Recently, the makers of Making a Murderer – Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi – have been criticized for presenting an overtly one-sided perspective that conveniently and cleverly portrays Avery as a victim of a police corruption as opposed to a killer. One of the more common complaints levied against Demos and Ricciardi is that they purposefully left out evidence which strongly points to Avery being guilty of murder.
With so much back and forth, and with criticisms flying every which way, both Demos and Ricciardi decided to address complaints head-on via a Twitter Q&A they conducted late this week.
Let’s dive right in.
Refuting allegations that they intended to portray Avery as an innocent victim from the get go, the directors write:
Biggest misconception is that we went into the project to try to prove something. The truth is we set out to examine something and ask questions. We went where the record, events and facts led us. After 10 years of research and production we responsibly presented what we found as a documentary series.
It’s important to remember that Demos and Ricciardi moved to Wisconsin to document Avery’s trial before there was even an inkling of police conduct. The duo couldn’t have predicted in their wildest dreams that the case would unfurl to reveal ethically questionable behavior on the part of police investigators and even attorneys.
When asked if the documentary’s purpose was to demonstrate Avery’s innocence or shine a bright and unnerving light on systemic flaws that plague the justice system, Demos and Ricciardi responded:
The point of the series is to get viewers to face uncomfortable questions abt how guilt gets decided in this country https://t.co/SvUvc6bdr6
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) January 20, 2016
As to the allegation that the documentary left out a good portion of incriminating evidence Avery, Demos and Ricciardi claim that they made a point to include the state’s strongest evidence against Avery in the production, a point previously raised by Strang and Buting.
No. Strongest evidence of guilt is in the series. The evidence left out is less significant, redundant… (1 of 2) https://t.co/fv38WDT3pr
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) January 20, 2016
Disputed, and in some cases inadmissible (unreliable/irrelevant/prejudicial) (2 of 2) https://t.co/fv38WDT3pr
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) January 20, 2016
When asked for their thoughts regarding Avery’s DNA being found on Hallbach’s car, the pair responded:
The question is how it got there. A crime lab expert testified that he went under the hood after handling other evidence and did not change his gloves. The defense argued there was the potential for contamination. The alternative argument was planting. It was disputed evidence and neither side was presented in the series with respect to this less significant evidence
One interesting piece of evidence left out of the documentary, and subsequently raised by prosecuting attorney Ken Kratz in interviews, is that Avery called up Auto Magazine and specifically asked to see Teresa Hallbach.
Addressing this, the filmmakers respond:
Teresa was the only Auto Trader photographer who covered Manitowoc. (1 of 2) https://t.co/6Up7ausuET
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) January 20, 2016
As the only Auto Trader photog in the county, if he asked for her there is nothing suspicious about that. (2 of 2) https://t.co/6Up7ausuET
— Making A Murderer (@MakingAMurderer) January 20, 2016
Following Making a Murderer’s release on Netflix, a few of the documentary’s key characters have made appearances in or made statements to the media. Steven Avery’s parents, however, have remained largely quiet. When asked about how Avery’s parents are handling things, the pair answered:
They continue to suffer every day Steven and Brendan are in prison. But they’re feeling uplifted by the recent letters of support they’ve received, and encouraged that Steven has a new lawyer.
This is just a sampling of the pair’s responses, and if you, like most people who have seen the documentary, are intent on devouring any and all information about the program as you can, make sure to check out the full Q&A session here via Twitter.
There’s a whole lot more information that the pair cover, including the interesting tidbit that the state of Wisconsin even tried to subpoena important footage and essentially shut down the entire production.
