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Harlem Shuffle
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From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a...
Ross (3284 KP) rated Making A Murderer - Season 2 in TV
Nov 5, 2018
Too long and unsatisfying
Contains spoilers, click to show
Steven Avery is back, still appealing his conviction for the murder of Theresa Hallbach, as is his nephew, Brendan Dassey.
The series was interesting, giving so much insight into the US courts and appeals system, which seems very convoluted, with so much apparent new evidence emerging on more thorough investigation and forensic analysis.
Avery's appeal case is submitted based on lots of facets - ineffectiveness of counsel, constitutional violations, new evidence etc etc. How this evidence is uncovered was really interesting and compelling. However, you have to wonder whether the submission of Avery's appeal was made too early in order to satisfy the TV series. It seemed like so much more evidence was uncovered after it was filed, which would have made the case so much stronger - fine if it goes to trial as this can all be used, but once the original appeal is submitted, that is what the judge will use to assess whether it should. Again, this facet of the appeal system seems unfair - the same judge reviews the appeal repeatedly and is bound to get fed up with hearing the same appeal over and over again. If the conviction was a result of large-scale corruption and evidence-planting, they had to nail the appeal first time, not file some of it then add bits and pieces later.
Dassey's appeal also seemed flawed, focusing so much on his coerced confession, when they should have paid more attention to how little evidence there was against him other than a dubious confession. I guess it was a case of having College lawyers who saw it more as an intellectual/theoretical exercise and were possibly a bit green for the courts in action.
All in all, the series ends with no progress for either party - Dassey's case has been all the way to the top with no joy. However, Avery's case is still in the early stages and the fight is clearly not over. This felt similar to the filing of his appeal, submitted too early just to satisfy TV scheduling.
The series, while compelling throughout, is too long for the content included and could easily have been edited down to 5 episodes or less.
I suspect another few episodes will be released next year, if some progress is made on either case.
The series was interesting, giving so much insight into the US courts and appeals system, which seems very convoluted, with so much apparent new evidence emerging on more thorough investigation and forensic analysis.
Avery's appeal case is submitted based on lots of facets - ineffectiveness of counsel, constitutional violations, new evidence etc etc. How this evidence is uncovered was really interesting and compelling. However, you have to wonder whether the submission of Avery's appeal was made too early in order to satisfy the TV series. It seemed like so much more evidence was uncovered after it was filed, which would have made the case so much stronger - fine if it goes to trial as this can all be used, but once the original appeal is submitted, that is what the judge will use to assess whether it should. Again, this facet of the appeal system seems unfair - the same judge reviews the appeal repeatedly and is bound to get fed up with hearing the same appeal over and over again. If the conviction was a result of large-scale corruption and evidence-planting, they had to nail the appeal first time, not file some of it then add bits and pieces later.
Dassey's appeal also seemed flawed, focusing so much on his coerced confession, when they should have paid more attention to how little evidence there was against him other than a dubious confession. I guess it was a case of having College lawyers who saw it more as an intellectual/theoretical exercise and were possibly a bit green for the courts in action.
All in all, the series ends with no progress for either party - Dassey's case has been all the way to the top with no joy. However, Avery's case is still in the early stages and the fight is clearly not over. This felt similar to the filing of his appeal, submitted too early just to satisfy TV scheduling.
The series, while compelling throughout, is too long for the content included and could easily have been edited down to 5 episodes or less.
I suspect another few episodes will be released next year, if some progress is made on either case.