White House & Obama Powerless to Pardon Steven Avery: ‘Making A Murderer’

barack obama not able to pardon steven avery while in white house

As we reported earlier, the White House did respond about the petition to pardon “Making A Murderer” subject Steven Avery, but as the decision to convict him was at a state level, they are unable to do anything. The one thing this has done is to remind people of the power of documentary film as this one has touched a nerve in the country reminding everyone of how often people are wrongfully convicted of crimes and lost in the criminal justice system.

The White House has responded to a petition asking President Obama to pardon Steven Avery — the subject of the Netflix show “Making a Murderer” — along with Brendan Dassey, who were both convicted of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005.

More than 125,000 have signed the petition, exceeding the 100,000 needed to trigger a response.

However, because Avery and Dassey were convicted in state criminal court, the president does not have the power to pardon them, the White House said.

“A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities,” a representative for the White House wrote online. “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.”

Avery, who’d previously served 18 years in prison for a sexual assault crime that he did not commit, and Dassey, his nephew, were both sentenced to life in prison for Halbach’s murder.

Avery is not eligible for parole, but Dassey will be in 2048. According to reports, Avery has appealed, but the verdict was upheld in 2011, and a local ABC affiliate in Wisconsin reported that in 2013, Dassey’s request for new trial was rejected.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who would have the authority to issue a pardon, does not seem willing to do so.

“Those who feel they have been wrongly convicted can seek to have their convictions overturned by a higher court,” Laurel Patrick, his press secretary, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this week.

“Making a Murderer” has been a hit for Netflix, causing many viewers to debate whether Avery and Dassey should be behind bars.

Ken Kratz, the former Wisconsin prosecutor who handled the murder case, slammed the show for being biased and omitting key details. However, Laura Ricciardi, the show’s co-writer/director, defended her work, telling the Wrap, “It was a nearly six-week-long trial, and it would just be impossible for us to include all of the less significant evidence.”