View from around the state: What ‘Making a Murderer’ missed

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— From The Journal Times of Racine

Over the past month, the name Steven Avery has dominated headlines throughout the state and nation. He was convicted of raping a woman, then through DNA evidence 18 years later was set free, became a poster boy for injustice and filed a $36 million lawsuit against the agencies that put him behind bars.

But his freedom was short-lived.

Two years later, the Manitowoc County man was back behind bars, this time in connection with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old freelance photographer who worked for Autotrader magazine.

Through the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” released on Dec. 18, directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos analyze the case and present a film questioning whether authorities set up Avery after he sued them.

It’s a film so convincing, hundreds of thousands of people have signed an online petition demanding Avery’s freedom. But the filmmakers left many details out.

Let’s start with Avery’s past. As part of the documentary, the filmmakers present Avery as an innocent victim and downplay Avery’s criminal past. Avery talks sadly about missing the birth of his first child because of a “cat incident.” But he downplays that it was an animal cruelty case, reportedly resulting from him dousing his cat with gasoline and oil and tossing it into a bonfire at his junkyard, according to reports.

A criminal past doesn’t make someone guilty of murder, but evidence does. The Netflix series brushes over important details about Halbach’s death.

For instance, according to Ken Kratz, the former Calumet County District Attorney who prosecuted the Halbach murder case, the day Halbach was murdered, Avery called her workplace to request that she come to his house and then called Halbach’s cellphone three times — twice using a feature to hide who was calling.

Also, the last place Halbach was known to have been was on Avery’s property; she wasn’t seen alive again. Her remains and car were found on Avery’s property and, in addition, Avery’s DNA was found in the trunk of Halbach’s car.

The documentary overlooks those details.

When questioned about leaving some evidence out, Ricciardi said: “It would be impossible for us to include all the evidence that was presented in the trial … that’s called a trial. What we made was a documentary.”

In that case, viewers should beware of jumping to conclusions based on a documentary which, as Ricciardi pointed out, is different than a trial.

This case is being closely scrutinized. If new evidence is presented, the case should be reopened, but unless that evidence appears, it makes sense that Gov. Scott Walker is not jumping on the bandwagon to pardon and free Avery.