The Netflix true crime documentary series "Making a Murderer" has inspired a lot of strong emotions and questions by fans, so much so that a petition to free the show's subjects Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey was started on the White House website We The People. The We The People site features citizen-created petitions that must be addressed after it reaches at least 100,000 signatures in 30 days.
Avery and Dassey's petition has been signed over 129,800 times within the time allowed, and the White House has issued an official response to it. Both Avery and Dassey are serving life in prison sentences for the murder of a 25-year-old woman named Teresa Halbach, but many think that the two are innocent and were framed by local authorities in Manitowoc County, Wisc.
"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 read. "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."
The statement went on and explained that if Avery was to be pardoned, it would have to come from Wisconsin since it was a case against the state. Despite the statement from the White House, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker already declared on Wednesday that he would not issue a pardon to Avery or Dassey, as HNGN previously reported.
Want to know more about the Netflix series "Making a Murderer?" Check out five things to know about the series here.
