Making a Murderer – The White House responds to the petition

It had over 300,000 signatures.

The interest in Steven Avery's case seems to have touched people in a way that few other legal cases have because the Netflix show 'Making A Murderer' can no longer be simply confined to the realms of entertainment. The documentary series has arguably been the most discussed TV show from the last 12 months but if you haven't seen it then we encourage you to do so because this post contains spoilers. Still with us? We already brought some bad news to those people that were hoping to see Steven Avery exonerated of the murder charge for which he has spent the last eight-and-a-half years in prison. Simply put, it's not within the US President's powers to issue a pardon for Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who was imprisoned in relation to the same case. Petitions for Barack Obama to pardon the two men have received more than 200,000 signatures and here's the White House's official stance. "Since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are both state prisoners, the President cannot pardon them. A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities. 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. That’s why he has granted 184 commutations total — more than the last five presidents combined — and has issued 66 pardons over his time in office".