Steven Avery

Steven Avery (born July 9, 1962) is an American man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison for a 1985 wrongful sexual assault conviction. Aided by the Wisconsin Innocence Project, he was exonerated when improved DNA testing of evidence indicated that another man had committed the sexual assault.

After his release from prison in 2003, Avery filed a civil lawsuit for $36 million in damages against Manitowoc County, its sheriff, and its district attorney, but in 2005, while his suit was pending, Avery was arrested for the murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach. He was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The case is under appeal as of January 2016, and a new team of defense attorneys was announced, with Kathleen Zellner taking on his case in conjunction with the Midwest Innocence Project.

Avery's legal trials, particularly the murder case and its related issues, are the focus of the Netflix original documentary Making a Murderer, released in December 2015, a 10-episode series directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.

Making a Murderer

Making a Murderer is an American web television series that first streamed on Netflix on December 18, 2015. The ten-part documentary, written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, explores the story of Steven Avery, a Manitowoc County, Wisconsin man, who served 18 years in prison for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen, before being exonerated in 2003. In 2005 he was arrested in connection with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a local photographer, and convicted in 2007. The series also covers the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was also charged in the murder.

The series was filmed over the course of ten years, with the creators moving back and forth from New York City to Wisconsin during filming. To promote the series, Netflix released the first episode concurrently on YouTube and on Netflix streaming, which it had not done for any other original programming.

The series was favorably compared to the HBO series The Jinx and the podcast Serial.Making a Murderer generated considerable controversy, both in Manitowoc County, where the documentary is set, and nationwide. A petition to the White House to pardon Avery garnered more than 128,000 signatures. In response, President Barack Obama stated he had no authority to act in a state case.

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Manitowoc County, Wisconsin

Manitowoc County /ˈmænᵻtəwɔːk/ is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,442. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848.

Manitowoc County comprises the Manitowoc, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,494 square miles (3,870 km²), of which 589 square miles (1,530 km²) is land and 905 square miles (2,340 km²) (61%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 82,887 people, 32,721 households, and 22,348 families residing in the county. The population density was 140 people per square mile (54/km²). There were 34,651 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile (23/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.90% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.98% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.7% were of German, 7.3% Polish, 5.3% Czech and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.2% spoke English, 1.8% Spanish, 1.3% Hmong and 1.1% German as their first language.

Phil McGraw

Phillip Calvin "Phil" McGraw (born September 1, 1950), known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002. McGraw first gained celebrity status with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s. In 2015, Forbes listed his earnings at $70 million for the previous 12 months, and ranked him the 15th highest earning celebrity in the world.

Early life

McGraw was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, the son of Anne Geraldine "Jerry" (née Stevens) and Joseph J. "Joe" McGraw, Jr. He grew up with two older sisters, Deana and Donna, and younger sister Brenda in the oilfields of North Texas where his father was an equipment supplier. During McGraw's childhood, his family moved so his father could pursue a lifelong goal of becoming a psychologist.

McGraw attended Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. In 1968, he was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Tulsa, where he played middle linebacker under Coach Glenn Dobbs. On November 23 of that year, McGraw's team lost to the University of Houston 100–6, which is one of the most lopsided games in college football history. Coach Dobbs retired after that season and McGraw transferred to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.