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California — The filmmakers behind Netflix's Making a Murderer documentary say they expected a backlash that would lead people in the media to demonize Steven Avery, the Wisconsin man whose prosecution in the 2005 death of a woman formed the centerpiece of the 10-part series issued last month.
Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, at a news conference on Sunday, sought to deflect discussion on the question of Avery's guilt or innocence and instead pointed to questions raised about the criminal justice system in their film.
Making a Murderer has followed the NPR podcast Serial and HBO's The Jinx as a compellingly told true crime epic, leading many people who have seen it to take up the cause of Avery, who served 18 years in prison following a wrongful conviction of rape and two years after his release was charged in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach. The documentary questions whether Avery was treated fairly.
Yet prosecutors — who the filmmakers say declined their request to participate in Making a Murderer — have claimed the film omits physical evidence against Avery. A former fiancee of Avery's, Jodi Stachowski, told HLN this week that Avery was "a monster" who had threatened to kill her.
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"The media are demonizing this man in order to prove his guilt," Ricciardi said.
They said, however, that they expected a strong reaction. Although they said they were filmmakers, not prosecutors, they said they tried their best to reflect all of the facts in the case.
They ducked questions Sunday on their belief about Avery's guilt or innocence, even though they told Stephen Colbert on CBS' Late Show earlier this month that they believed he was not guilty. Ricciardi said she would not want to be treated by the criminal justice system the way Avery was.
"We did not consider this advocacy journalism in the least," Demos said. "We are not taking sides. We don't have a stake in his character, in his innocence or guilt. That was not the question that we were raising."
She said that "if you watch the series, I think it's clear that the American criminal justice system has some serious problems and that it is urgent that we address them."
Avery has recently filed an appeal of his conviction, claiming authorities used an improper warrant and that a juror was out to get him.
The filmmakers said they understood that Avery's request to watch Making a Murderer had been declined. They said they have had conversations with Avery since the documentary's release that they have taped, but have not returned to Wisconsin for more filming.
"We are ready to follow if there are significant developments and we are looking at other stories, as well," Demos said.
Watch the interview here:
