Making her case

It’s been three years since Netflix released the true crime docuseries that sparked nationwide debate over corruption in the criminal justice system. Now Season 2 of Making a Murderer finds Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, still behind bars serving life sentences for the 2005 murder of Theresa Halbach.

Wisconsin authorities argued Making a Murderer’s first season was one-sided and left out key information. The most important information being that Avery’s sweat was found beneath the hood latch of Halbach’s car. Making a Murderer’s Season 2 sets out to answer that question and others by once again combing through the evidence as Avery and Dassey’s lawyers appeal their convictions.

Leading the charge is Steven Avery’s new defense attorney, Kathleen Zellner, a lawyer famous for overturning wrongful convictions. Zellner wants to prove that Avery and Dassey didn’t kill Halbach, but she also wants to find who did.

Throughout Season 2, Zellner becomes more private investigator than attorney and replaces Steven Avery as the protagonist. Zellner’s team re-creates multiple crime scenes and consults forensic experts on every piece of evidence used to convict Avery and Dassey: the blood samples found in Halbach’s car, Halbach’s cremated body, that DNA under the hood latch, and more.

The extensive time spent on this science makes the 10 new episodes feel like 10 CSI episodes and less like a documentary. Since the Halbach family still understandably refused to participate in Making a Murderer’s Season 2, calling the show “crass entertainment,” the episodes feel more one-sided than the last and seem focused on proving Avery and Dassey’s innocence rather than questioning the criminal justice system.

Still, the series can provide valuable insight into the criminal justice system and the minds of defense attorneys and prosecutors. Whatever audiences conclude about the guilt or innocence of Avery and Dassey, the series shows the consequences of sin are vast and far-reaching. Whoever took Theresa Halbach’s life also left a wake of other victims.