By ,
Published April 28, 2016
An online petition is calling for the pardon of a convicted murderer who is the subject of the popular Netflix series "Making a Murderer."
The Change.org petition, which has more than 300,000 signatures and counting, is seeking to free Steven Avery, who was convicted by a jury in Calumet County, Wisconsin in 2007 of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach. He is currently serving a life sentence.
The petition's creator Michael Seyedian writes: "There is a documentary series on Netflix called 'Making a Murderer.' After viewing it, I am outraged with the injustices which have been allowed to compound and left unchecked in the case of Steven Avery of Manitowoc County in Wisconsin, U.S.A. Avery's unconstitutional mistreatment at the hands of corrupt local law enforcement is completely unacceptable and is an abomination of due process."
The original petition called for a presidential pardon of Avery, but it was amended it include Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, as Avery was convicted in state court, not federal.
Other petitions also call for the pardon of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who is in prison for being a party to murder, sexual assault and mutilating a corpse in the Halbach case. He is serving life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
Avery previously spent 18 years in prison for sexual assault before he was exonerated and released in 2003 based on DNA evidence. He claims that the police officers who were humiliated by the overturn of his sentence framed him for Halbach's murder.
The 10-episode Netflix series hit the online streaming service before Christmas and has caught the attention of many celebrities as well.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/petition-calls-for-pardon-for-subject-of-netflix-series-making-a-murderer