The following opinion column is by John Ferak, a Patch editor in Illinois who covered Steven Avery’s case and wrote the book Wrecking Crew.
Despite the strong possibility of evidence tampering in Teresa Halbach’s murder, Wisconsin’s judges have yet to agree that convicted killer Steven Avery and his lawyer Kathleen Zellner deserve a full-blown evidentiary hearing in front of a local judge.
Even though Zellner points to several examples of prosecutorial malfeasance by special prosecutor Ken Kratz during her client’s first murder trial, Wisconsin’s judges continue to agree they don’t want to conduct a courtroom evidentiary hearing on that topic either.
While Zellner maintains she has uncovered substantial evidence pointing to Bobby Dassey, one of Steven Avery’s nephews, Wisconsin’s judges remain steadfast in their opposition to granting Zellner a public hearing in a Wisconsin courtroom.
Let’s not forget, it was Bobby Dassey’s burn barrel, not Steven Avery’s, where the charred bones of Halbach were disposed. Zellner also has a witness who has identified Bobby Dassey as pushing Halbach’s RAV-4 after her disappearance on Halloween 2005.
“In 30 years of doing post-conviction work all over the United States, we have been granted evidentiary hearings in 99 percent of our cases,” Zellner recently told me. “The other 1 percent were denied and then reversed on appeal. My question is, ‘Why is Wisconsin so fearful of having a public hearing about the integrity of this conviction?'”
Zellner raises a great question.
Why are all levels of Wisconsin’s state judiciary in full agreement to deny Avery a chance at a new trial or, at minimum, a chance to return to the Manitowoc County Courthouse where Zellner can call witnesses and argue why her client’s murder conviction needs to be overturned?
The answer to that question may be a lot simpler than “Making A Murderer” web sleuths from all across the globe realize.
In the eyes of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Avery’s case may be all about stopping “Making A Murderer 3” from airing.
The entire world saw the state of Wisconsin’s judiciary on full display when “Making A Murderer” got released in December 2015. In October 2018, the world got another dose of reality when “Making A Murderer 2” came out, making Zellner the star of the second docu series.
You can just imagine the reaction to the second season of “Making A Murderer” within Wisconsin’s small-town courthouses and around Madison, the state’s capital, where the robes for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices are kept.
And that’s where the Wisconsin Supreme Court comes into play.
Do you really think Wisconsin’s Supreme Court wants to make the bold declaration that Steven Avery was the victim of not just one, but two state of Wisconsin wrongful convictions, both involving jury trials with Manitowoc County citizens?
Do you firmly believe the Wisconsin Supreme Court wants to fall out of favor with the rest of Wisconsin’s politicians and bureaucrats by giving the producers of “Making a Murderer” enough raw footage to compile a third season, one that is likely to be more compelling and dramatic than Making A Murderer seasons 1 and 2 combined?
A pronouncement of a second wrongful conviction for Avery would give Wisconsin a disgraceful distinction of being the only state in the country with such a black mark.
The real reason why Avery may never get a courtroom evidentiary hearing, let alone a new trial, is because so many state of Wisconsin politicians, bureaucrats and law enforcement officials, retired and present-day, Republican and Democrat, have made up their minds that this Making A Murderer hysteria needs to come to a crashing halt.
Denying Avery access to an evidentiary hearing means the producers of Making A Murderer gain no new live courtroom footage to compile another Netflix season. That means no chance for the far-reaching Netflix audience to watch Zellner cross-examine and, potentially, rip to shreds, the state of Wisconsin’s star witnesses responsible for sending Avery off to prison for the rest of his life.
You have to wonder whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court realizes there are too many skeletons in the closet in regard to Avery’s case to open the door to the world.
After all, Making A Murderer 3 could lead to a Making A Murderer 4, a series in which people such as Manitowoc County Sheriff’s deputies, state of Wisconsin crime lab personnel and perhaps even some of Avery’s criminal prosecutors could find themselves as defendants in an inevitable Avery civil lawsuit seeking big damages, like in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices are not idiots in regard to the worldwide impact of Avery’s murder case.
Wisconsin’s justices know that if they rule in Avery’s favor, people around world will rejoice, and Avery will be hailed as the greatest modern-day hero for the wrongful conviction movement.
But, while the world still demands justice for Avery, Wisconsin’s public officials and politicians appear ready to shut off the video cameras forever in regard to the Avery case and the Netflix series.
And that’s where the Wisconsin Supreme Court has a critical role.
Giving Avery another chance to appear in court with Zellner, the nation’s most renowned wrongful conviction lawyer, would give the producers of “Making A Murderer” a golden opportunity to score a touchdown with millions of loyal and dedicated fans across the globe.
The simple and easy way to pull the plug on the “Making A Murderer” series — in the eyes of the Wisconsin Supreme Court — is to make sure Avery and Zellner lose their appeals at all levels, now and forever.
In the eyes of Wisconsin’s justice system, there cannot and will not be a Making A Murderer 3.
Doesn’t it seem that way?
Since 2017, John Ferak has been an Illinois Patch Editor for Joliet, Shorewood and Channahon-Minooka. He wrote the 2018 book Wrecking Crew: Demolishing the Case Against Steven Avery.