Making a Murderer (of an innocent man)

Today I went to Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki to listen to a conversation on Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer". I don't know if you are familiar with it, but basically the series (made by filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi) deals with the life of Steven Avery over the course of ten years.

Avery was wrongly convicted of rape and murder for 18 years in prison. After new evidence occurred (such as DNA) he was liberated in 2005 only to be sentenced again to life imprisonment by the brutal murder of photographer Teresa Halbach in 2007. "Making a Murderer" questions the local district police station operations of Manitowoc County and and the sentences, judgements and public humiliation Avery had received.

The honorary guests of the event were Avery's defence attorneys Dean Strang and Jerry Buting who answered questions by the audience. The moderator for the event was Stan Saanila.

The Netflix documentary series "Making a murderer" caused stir and debate, and achieved a great number of viewers in Finland. The series has attracted international attention and criticism of the US justice system.

"Making a murderer" is a masterful well-made documentary about Steven Avery, but also an interesting and sinister look on how the US judicial system treats people. That is were Strang and Buting had a huge impact on Avery's life.

This event made me question a lot about the cultural differences of the American and Finnish judicial system. I don't want to give away too much information if someone hasn't seen the acclaimed documentary series, but WE SHOULD ALL BE SO LUCKY to have the system that we have.

It almost sounded like it could have not been real. But it was. It happened to Steven Avery.

-Johanna