It was almost impossible to make it through Making a Murderer without feeling moved by Steven Avery’s plight.
Evidence presented in the Netflix series strongly suggested Avery’s innocence. In the subsequent days, unseen footage, court documents and testimony’s surfaced, again leading to the conclusion that Avery was framed by the police department.
A petition for Avery’s exoneration has now been publically addressed by the White House.
The petition had over 129,883 signatures. It stated:
“Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey should be given a full pardon by President Obama for their wrongful conviction in the connection to the murder of Teresa Halbach.
“Based on the evidence in the Netflix documentary series “Making a Murderer”, the justice system embarrassingly failed both men, completely ruining their entire lives”.
The White House was forced to respond publically as the petition gained over 100,000 signatures.
In a statement on the We The People site, the White House said that the President couldn’t free the men.
“Under the constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those adjudicated in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the President,” the statement reads.
“In addition, the President’s pardon power extends to convictions adjudicated in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense.”
“Since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are both state prisoners, the President cannot pardon them. A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities”.
“While this case is out of the Administration’s purview, President Obama is committed to restoring the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system. That’s why he has granted 184 commutations total — more than the last five presidents combined — and has issued 66 pardons over his time in office”.
