‘Making A Murderer’ Update: Steven Avery Supporters Gather For Protest In London
The Netflix docu-series Making a Murderer has become so popular that it’s reached people across the world. London campaigners held large protest today in support of releasing Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey from outside the U.S. Embassy and the Parliament.
The Mirror reports that the protest, which began at 11 a.m. on Saturday, was held by Avery and Dassey supporters who feel that, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Miriam Margolyes, better known as Professor Sprout from the Harry Potter films, was among the massive amounts of supporters in attendance who want President Obama to help re-open both men’s cases. Margolyes said the following.
“I think [fans of the show] should sign the petition calling on President Obama to reopen the case, send letters to the boys in jail, to give them hope and cheer them up and do all they can to bring attention to the wider public.”
Harry Potter star arrives at Making a Murderer protest in London https://t.co/r6ezDAw75x pic.twitter.com/iaSftLVO8h
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) April 2, 2016
After gathering outside of the U.S. Embassy, supporters made their way down to the Parliament Square. Many supporters held signs in support of the two men. Some of the parents and children in attendance wore “Free Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey” t-shirts. The focus of the Parliament Square protest, according to one of the protestors, was to reach out to the media and make themselves vocal.
“Our group will swell as we meet up with those travelling from further afield at Parliament Square. There will once again be a media presence, so we need to put on a show!”
Margolyes has been a supporter since she watched Making a Murderer earlier this year, and although she admits she’s not an attorney, last month she said that she thinks the U.S. legal system was absolutely wrong in convicting Avery and Dassey.
“I am not a lawyer in anyway and I have watched the show like everyone else but I can truthfully say I think the whole thing is absolutely sinister. The Avery family have been a victim of the class system from start to finish, it is clear they have been treated like they were trash and by a group of people who were, in my opinion, colluding.”
During the protest today, Margolyes told The Press Association that it’s important to spread awareness about legal injustice because she thinks it affects everyone, regardless what country they live in.
“People have got to know what’s going on because this corruption and injustice affects everyone in every country.”
The organizer of the protest, Kayleigh Brandon, said that she’s been writing Brendan Dassey in prison. Dassey, who was only 16 when convicted of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach, was excited when he learned about the protest, according to Brandon.
Well said ?? @JButing #DeanStrang #MakingAMurderer protest! https://t.co/o8hFN9h24n
— evelyn (@evelynkrasnik) April 2, 2016
Dassey gained numerous supporters after viewers watched authorities interrogate him for numerous hours about Halbach’s murder. Many feel that he was railroaded, manipulated, and forced into a false confession, and given his low IQ, it was not a difficult task. Brandon said the following.
“After finally succumbing to the manipulation of seasoned interrogators, Brendan immediately recanted his coerced confession. Yet despite not a scrap of DNA evidence linking him to the crime scene, Brendan was sentenced to life in prison.”
Margolyes agrees. She added that not only is Brendan educationally-challenged, but the he was also interrogated as a minor without the presence of his parents and before he was even assigned an attorney.
“You can see the evidence that they got from Brendan Dassey when he was 16. He is educationally challenged, and there was nobody with him. Not his lawyer, not his mother.”
Brandon added that she and Dassey were born within two weeks of each other and in her letters to him, she talks about her career, home, and college experiences.
“He hasn’t done any of that.”
On October 31, 2005, Halbach, a freelance photographer for Auto Trader magazine, stopped by the Avery property to take photos of a van, and on the same day, she went missing. Her vehicle and other evidence were later found on the property. Both Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey remain in prison, convicted of murder.
[Photo by Netflix]
