Can you make a murderer?

So like the majority of the Netflix watching generation I have spent early January glued to the latest Netflix fad - Making A Murderer. If you have been hiding under your onesie since the beginning of 2016, the series follows Steven Avery, who was wrongly sent to prison for a sexual assault, acquitted after 18 years, but then sent back after he was convicted of the murder of a young photographer. Now I do love a binge watch, and as stated in my previous blog I love a true crime story, but for some reason this series did not engage to me to a level where I had to watch. It took me nearly a week to finish the ten episodes and I only did so as I can then talk about it with everyone else!

Now if you have not watched the series but you are planning on do so, stop reading as I will likely spoil it for you!

Firstly, after reading various other posts on the internet it is clear the series was biased and lots of evidence has been missed out BUT I do think a retrial would be fair, certainly in the case of Brendan Dassey. Throughout the series I had far more compassion for Brendan, who was young, impressionable and scared through the interrogation process. Steven on the other hand left me feeling cold. He had committed some other pretty brutal crimes and who knows what 18 years of prison can do someone? I would have liked to have seen some more on Steven as person so I felt more of a connection to him, but what really disappointed me was the lack of other suspects introduced by the producers. If Steven and Brendan did not kill Theresa, who did? Yes I know that the audience are led to believe the local police force conspired against Steven, who actually did the deed? Who helped? Why Theresa and why use Brendan to help convict Steven? Was there anyone else who would have wanted Steven out of the way? Did Theresa have any enemies? I need more answers and someone else to pin it on before I really believe that Steven had nothing to do with the murder.

Finally, and I know this question has been raised in countless other reviews of the series, but who was the international recording artist who was on the jury???

Maybe series two will help answer some of these questions!

On a very separate note: I went to see The Revenant last night, something else that failed to impress me. Now I was very tired and did sleep through 30-45 mins of the film but I missed nothing at all. The story is sparse, the scenery spectacular and although the actors do a good job, they have a limited chance to showcase themselves. I know Leonardo Dicaprio deserves an Oscar, but I am not sure this was really his chance to do so. I would not be surprised if he misses out again.

Can a Netflix series get you out of prison?

The secret hit of 2014 was a Podcast and 2016 has begun with a Netflix sensation. The link, both centre around true crime stories that may have accumulated in the arrest and sentencing of an unguilty suspect. Both series have led to viewers sensationalising whether the convicts committed the brutal crimes but is it morally correct to be debating this as a form of entertainment?

The undoubtable highlight of the podcasting world so far is Serial, which has now been in the top ten for over a year. Serial kicked the crime genre off in a completely new direction, with the first series following the story of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee in Baltimore in 1999. The story is compelling and the podcast stylish and addictive, the production team did a brilliant job in making it listener friendly and this has certainly contributed to its success. However it was biased towards Adnan being unguilty of the murder, would the series have been as successful if the producers sat on the fence? Or discovered information that led them to believe Adnan really was guilty? Since series one concluded in 2014, Adnan has since secured a further appeal, was this down to the media attention after Serial? Most definitely!

The second series is out now and I am afraid I am not as in love with it as I was the first but it will be interesting to see whether audiences stay gripped and believe Bowe Bergdahl campaign innocence?

After the success of Serial we have seen a succession of spin-off podcasting shows which are hoping to solve the mystery surrounding other crimes. One I have recently been listening to is Missing - Maura Murray, which tells the story of 21-year-old Maura who crashed her car in 2004 and has not been seen since. This case differs from Serial as no one has ever been convicted and Maura has never been sighted since, alive or dead. Therefore there are many more answers needed and although it is unlikely the show will help track her down, any information would surely propel the podcasting format into the spotlight?

Across the Atlantic, the BBC have even jumped on the bandwagon with their series, Who killed Elsie Frost, which begun in July 2015. The Radio Four show centres around the brutal murder of 14-year-old Elsie, whose killer has never been caught even though the crime took place in 1965. Throughout the series Elsie’s family accessed details of the crime and records they had not previously been able to but are still no closer to an answer.

Over the past few days I have been watching Netflix’s Making A Murderer series, which covers the complex case of Steven Avery, who believes he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2007. Avery was released from prison in 2005 after spending 18 years behind bars for a sexual assault charge he did not commit and was in the middle of a $37million lawsuit with the local police.

The show is similar to Serial in that it is biased towards an un-guilty verdict and this has led many to believe Avery is not guilty, was set up by the police, and should be released. I am finding it hard to believe this is the case at this stage but I have limited knowledge of the American justice system and I do find that aspect of the show interesting. For instance a sexual assault charge in the UK would not necessarily carry an 18 year sentence and the first case was clearly poorly investigated and followed up. It will be interesting to see if my opinion changes as the series concludes and I will write an update then.

So if I was a criminal sitting in a cell not guilty of the crime I had been convicted of I would definitely be trying to gain my own series! How long will it be before one of these shows delivers? And if they don’t will we lose interest? For the time being I will certainly be listening/watching!