By now, most of you have heard or read about the hype surrounding the Netflix series
“Making a Murderer.” If you haven’t sat down and watched the 10-episode series, you need to. Today.
As a criminal defense attorney, many people have since asked me, “what do you think?” “is he guilty or innocent?” I wish I knew those answers. Instead, I am left with a more valuable lesson learned from this tragic, triumphant, sad, and real-life story: Our criminal justice system is not perfect, and sometimes it isn’t fair.
Steven Avery’s story goes beyond whether or not he is guilty or innocent of the alleged murder of Teresa Halbach. Through his journey, we see how our society views people who are accused of crimes. Our criminal justice system is premised on the principle that you are INNOCENT, unless you are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet, our societal beliefs, with much help from the media, are generally that if you are accused of a crime you are more likely than not, guilty of that crime.
When you are seated as a juror in a criminal trial, the Judge will instruct you that you have to view the defendant innocent of the crimes until the state proves otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt. Except, this goes against our “normal” reactions and assumptions of those who are accused of heinous crimes and are seated in a courtroom surrounded by a team of lawyers. We can’t help but think, “if the police charged him with his crime, he must have done it,” or “if he was innocent, the state would have already dismissed the case against him by now,” or even worse, “he just looks guilty.”
These are daily struggles that I, and my clients, face everyday. To literally go against the odds, and convince jurors to go against their “normal” views and to think the way the law tells them to. To presume my clients innocent, unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The “Making a Murderer” series encompasses this ideal in a way that I hope will help improve our justice system. I hope that people who watch the series will have a better understanding of how our justice system works, and how difficult it is to put the words of the media, and other ideas out of our heads, and evaluate a case based on the law. Based on the most important principle in our justice system: The presumption of innocence.
As for Steve Avery and Brendan Dassey, I don’t know whether or not they killed Teresa Halbach. But I do wholeheartedly believe that there were injustices committed during the investigations against them, and that they are entitled to new trials. New trials far outside the reigns of Manitowoc County. I also encourage viewers to see the bigger picture, and recognize the “tunnel vision” that is oftentimes created by law enforcement in seeking convictions, rather than the truth. I hope that this series starts insightful discussions about our justice system and the importance of the presumption of innocence.
Bommarito law 