Making a Murderer Inmate Files New Appeal

New lawyer says she has evidence to exonerate Avery
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 13, 2016 12:55 AM CST
Making a Murderer Inmate Files New Appeal
Judge Patrick L. Willis delivers his sentence to Steven Avery on June 1, 2007, at the Manitowoc County Courthouse in Manitowoc, Wis.   (AP Photo/The Post-Crescent, Dan Powers)

Steven Avery has filed a fresh appeal in his Wisconsin murder case—and thanks to the hit Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, there are now a lot more people paying attention. The appeal filed in a Madison court on Monday, which can be seen in full here, accuses authorities of searching his property illegally and claims that a juror with a preconceived notion that he was guilty improperly influenced other jurors during his 2007 trial for the murder of Teresa Halbach, the AP reports. Avery recently secured new legal representation from Chicago-area lawyer Kathleen Zellner and the Midwest Innocence Project, reports WBAY, but Monday's court filing appears to have been prepared without the new legal team.

Zellner specializes in reversing convictions, and she says she has found new evidence that will exonerate Avery, reports NBC News. The Netflix documentary suggests that Avery—who served 18 years for a rape he didn't commit before being released two years before the Halbach murder—is the victim of a conspiracy, and a petition urging President Obama and Gov. Scott Walker to free him now has more than 415,000 signatures. Walker, however, has never pardoned anybody, and WBAY reports that he has signaled he isn't going to start with Avery. Netflix viewers "should read the unanimous opinion of the Court of Appeals before jumping to conclusions," he said in a Facebook post. (More Steven Avery stories.)

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