Making a Murderer: When Streaming Became Activism

When Netflix became a weapon in the fight for justice

Netflix released the documentary series Making a Murderer in December 2015, triggering an earthquake that would shake both the true crime world and the American legal system. Directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, the series followed Steven Avery and his 16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey through one of the most controversial murder cases in modern American legal history—a case that took 10 years to document.

Steven Avery had already spent 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. When he was released in 2003, he filed a $36 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against Manitowoc County in Wisconsin. Two years later, he was arrested for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach—timing so suspicious it became the series' central narrative.

Brendan Dassey's interrogation—a case of abuse of power

What shocked viewers most was not Steven Avery's case, but the treatment of his nephew Brendan Dassey. The 16-year-old boy with learning disabilities was interrogated for hours without an attorney or guardian present. Through footage from the interrogations, millions of viewers watched police use techniques that coerced the mentally vulnerable teenager into confessing participation in a murder.

Dassey's confession became the key evidence against both him and Steven Avery, even though it was filled with inconsistencies and details that didn't match the physical evidence.