Petition for the release of Steven Avery has been signed
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: More than 200,000 people have now signed these petitions calling for his immediate release or pardon, this incredible ground swell of support for this convicted killer, all thanks to this documentary. That is CNN's Jonathan Mann reports is taking the world by storm.</s>JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everybody is listening. What do you want to say today?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm innocent.</s>MANN: "Making a murderer," it is the latest binge watching obsession on Netflix. The ten-part documentary follows the case of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who spent 18 years in prison for rape before DNA evidence helped win his release in 2003. Just two years later, after filing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over his wrongful conviction, Avery and his nephew were arrested, both were convicted, this time for the murder of a young woman, Theresa Hallbach.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Avery's blood was found inside of Teresa Hallbach's vehicle.</s>MANN: Avery maintain he is innocent. And defense lawyers say authorities planted evidence to frame him for murder. Since it premiered December 18th, "Making a Murder" has attracted a huge following including many celebrities who are heaping praise on the series. Actor Ricky Gervais tweeting, never mind an Emmy or Oscar "Making a Murder" deserves a Nobel Prize, the greatest documentary I have ever seen. Not everyone is a fan. Former district attorney Ken Kratz was a special prosecutor in the Avery case. He tells CNN affiliate WLUK the documentary was biased in favor of the defense.</s>KEN KURTZ, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN THE AVERY CASE: The jury was provided a much different picture than what this series provides.</s>MANN: Filmmakers spent ten years following the case and defend their work.</s>MOIRA DEMOS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: We believe that the series is representative of what we witnessed. The key pieces of the state's evidence are included in the series.</s>MANN: Avery remains in prison, serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. While fans dissect the series and the case online, even circulating a petition urging a presidential pardon.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth always comes out.</s>MANN: Jonathan Mann, CNN.</s>BALDWIN: So did he do it? I want to talk to one person who says Avery is absolutely guilty and that Netflix performed a miscarriage of justice with this docu-series. She is the one and only Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace, what's fascinating too about your perspective - good to see you, is that you interviewed Steven Avery back in 2005 when he was still under investigation. Let's listen to that.</s>NANCY GRACE, CNN HOST, NANCY GRACE SHOW: In this case, do you think you're being framed?</s>STEVEN AVERY, SUSPECT: Yes, I'm being set up because of my lawsuit and everything else.</s>GRACE: Because of your previous incarceration you're suing?</s>AVERY: Yes. They set me up then.</s>GRACE: Well, do you think it has anything to do with her car being found at your auto shop?</s>AVERY: No. I think it's because of my name and what I went through from them.</s>BALDWIN: Nancy, has the Netflix series, though, is that changed your opinion of all of this in any way?</s>GRACE: OK, no offense, but it doesn't matter what you or I or anybody else and Netflix or all the viewers' think, doesn't matter. What happens is what the jury thought. And, no, the Netflix series has not convinced me that he is innocent. It has convinced me that there is bias in the media. They did what they thought would sell. I was there. I know the facts that were presented to this jury. Her blood is found on a bullet in his garage, a bullet that was absolutely fired from his gun. His blood is found in six spots in her vehicle. He told me out of his own mouth that she was there at his place, called over by him, although he star 67'd the number and disguised who he was for her to take a photo there for "auto trader." He has on</s>BALDWIN: All right. I'm hearing all the details and the facts. But here is about -- you talk about bias, and then you have the other camp who is saying, well, hang on. You know, the Avery family, they think that the small town cops in Manitou County, they had some sort of bias or vendetta against him, you know. The county was about to pay a ton of money for his wrongful imprisonment lawsuit. Why not buy that?</s>GRACE: The reason I'm not buying that is this so-called conspiracy would have to include lawmen, lawwomen and prosecutors from two separate counties. Manitou and Calumet (ph). How could he have done it? I mean, think through his theory. To do that, police would have to go and kill Teresa Hallbach. They would have to be in on him calling her over the day she is murdered. What, they had a hand on that? And him disguising his identity? This is a very troubling aspect of the case, his sweat, not blood, not semen, not saliva, his sweat is found under the hood of her car. Now, how are police going to get his sweat and plant it under her hood? Her car found on his property?</s>BALDWIN: Let me throw some nails at you, though. What about how the film sort of, you know, without overtly saying it, I mean, there were all of these examples about how this family, the Avery family not totally even educated to understand their legal rights, sometimes don't know the difference between, you know, a cop and an attorney, Avery allows his property to be searched without first calling up a lawyer. What about that?</s>GRACE: OK, are you suggesting that because they don't have a law degree that he can't commit a murder? Because that doesn't make any sense. That's a</s>BALDWIN: Everyone is talking about this docu-series. There's one perspective from Nancy Grace. Nancy Grace, thank you so much. You can watch Nancy weeknights on our sister network</s>HLN 8: 00 p.m. eastern. Thank you.</s>GRACE: Thank you.</s>BALDWIN: Coming up next, a novel approach to preventing gun violence in America perhaps. A politician can agree. So bring in the techies. We will explain how a so-called smart guns could save live.