‘Making A Murderer’ Updates: Steven Avery’s Lawyer Dean Strang Talks Show, Case Status, And Brendan Dassey’s Situation

The new Netflix show Making a Murderer has become a huge hit in the days since it was released, and viewers are anxious to hear more about the case. Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey remain behind bars, but they are both still fighting to be released. What does Avery’s lawyer Dean Strang have to say about the Netflix show and the case at this point?

As viewers saw on Making a Murderer, both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey were convicted for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Avery has been sentenced to life without parole, whereas Dassey could be paroled in 2048. However, both men continue to battle for a new trial or other resolution that would get them out of prison. They have been turned down multiple times since their 2007 convictions, and Avery is now having to battle on his own without legal counsel.

Dean Strang shared with the Cap Times that he thought the Netflix series was fair. He added that while it couldn’t have been entirely complete considering how much material had to be condensed into just 10 hours of television, he felt that the project was done quite well. Strang notes that Steven was the one who really drove the decision to work with the filmmakers on the project.

Viewers watched as Strang expressed serious concerns about Brendan’s representation and case, and he clearly felt that the system failed Dassey. Strang reiterates that point in this new interview, detailing that he feels that Brendan’s case was a vivid example of systemic failings that continue to haunt him as a lawyer. While Dean believes that Avery’s case had systemic failures as well, he says that Dassey’s case showcased those issues even more sharply.

While Steven is still fighting for his release, Strang admits that he doesn’t think Avery has a very good chance of getting out of jail. Dean notes that at this point, it really would take new evidence in the vein of a new witness or confession, or advances in testing that could change the determinations made in the trial about the blood found in Teresa’s car, to bring about an opportunity for Steven’s release.

Dean, as well as Steven’s other lawyer, Jerry Buting, remains in contact with Avery on a regular basis. While they no longer officially represent Steven and rarely see him in person, Dean notes that the two lawyers continue to have regular contact and act as pro bono resources for their former client. Strang adds that Steven remains steadfast in his claims that he did not murder Teresa Halbach.

Although Strang was fairly pleased by how Making a Murderer turned out, former state prosecutor Ken Kratz is less satisfied. As People shares, Kratz claims that the show left out quite a bit of pertinent information that swayed the jury to convict. Kratz claims that there had been a prior interaction between Teresa and Steven that had creeped her out. In addition, Kratz alleges that Avery specifically targeted Halbach and tricked her into getting her back to the property on that fateful day.

Kratz also claims that there was evidence introduced that during Steven’s first lengthy prison term, for the rape where he was later cleared, Avery talked about plans to rape and torture women and about burning a body. The former prosecutor also talks about a gun of Avery’s that he believes was involved, and he claims that Steven planned Teresa’s murder weeks before it happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34M2zdLc-2U

While Making a Murderer viewers are buzzing about what really happened the day that Teresa was killed, nobody knows for certain what transpired despite the convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. There are multiple threads about the show building on Reddit, and many are anxious to see more follow-up on the case. The hacker group Anonymous has even stated that they will be getting involved in helping Avery.

Do you believe that Brendan Dassey and Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach? Given the monster hit that Making a Murderer has already become, fans can feel confident that there will be more done, but everybody will have to stay tuned to see just what comes next.

[Photo by AP Photo/ Kirk Wagner, Pool]