'Making a Murderer' keeps raising questions

• Tickets to hear Dean Strang, Jerry Buting in Milwaukee go on sale Friday, at $45.50 apiece.
• Website examines TV stations' 'pattern of suspicion' of Avery before his arrest in Halbach slaying

Don't let the name fool you. The Frisky has some deeply thoughtful writing today about "Making a Murderer," the people in it and the questions the documentary raises.

Author Amelia McDonell-Parry acknowledges that reasonable minds might disagree over questions of guilt vs. innocence, and whether filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos are somehow obligated to present a neutral view of the proceedings. But, she writes, the documentary raises important questions about fairness in the legal system.

"Making a Murderer" (and its predecessor, the "Serial" podcast) "have aided in educating the public about a legal system that would prefer to be regarded as too complicated to understand because our ignorance makes us easier to control," McDonnell-Parry writes. "The outrage that these series have inspired is a long time coming.

"Let’s not diminish or dismiss that (mostly constructive) outrage — a few misdirected tweets notwithstanding — in favor of hand-wringing and nitpicking over journalistic impartiality. Anything that successfully chips away at the cult-like reverence with which our country treats those who make and enforce laws should be celebrated and encouraged."

The magazine-length piece also looks at other cases where people who were convicted claimed they they had been wrongly arrested and convicted.

Daily newsletter:  Sign up for 'Making a Murderer' updates

Timeline:  History of the Steven Avery case

Related:  “Making a Murderer” coverage, archived stories and more

TEN QUESTIONS ...

Another article — this on Rolling Stone magazine's website — concludes with 10 questions "we still have about 'Making a Murderer.'"

Some have been top-of-mind since the series first became available for viewing (ex: Why did then-Sgt. Andrew Colborn "call in" Halbach's license plate by telephone when the vehicle apparently had not been found yet?). But others have gotten much less review in the court of public opinion.

Perhaps the biggest: What went on inside the jury room?

The story also includes comments from then NBC 26 reporter Aaron Keller wondering if police called a reporter at a competing station to say that Avery was the last person to have seen Halbach alive.

"The answer to that question — I don't know if it's worth anything," he said. "To some conspiracy theorist it might be."

STAY TUNED

In true tabloid form, the UK's Mirror claims, without attribution, that a juror will say that Avery and his nephew were framed and promises "explosive new details."

"Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos are said to be planning a second series of the hit show in which they will unveil startling new evidence."

LIVE, FROM MILWAUKEE ...

If you'd like to see the principals on Steven Avery's defense team up close, you'll want to be ready when tickets go on sale Friday for a Milwaukee appearance by lawyers Dean Strang and Jerome Buting.

The pair will appear at the Riverside Theater March 18 for a moderated discussion with WUWM host Mitch Teich. Reserved seats cost $45.50 and will be available at noon CT Friday at http://pabsttheater.org/show/strangbuting, or at the Pabst and Riverside theater box offices.

'SWASHBUCKLING' KRATZ?

Bustle continues to find clever, fresh angles from which to approach the case of Teresa Halbach's murder, and the prosecution of Avery and nephew Brendan Dassey.

Today's: The website looks at video from around the time of Halbach's disappearance that the site says reveal "a pattern of suspicion about Avery," as well Avery's attempts before he even was arrested to accuse Manitowoc County investigators of trying to frame him.

The site also shows a 2013 newscast that pokes fun at Avery's "ZZ Top video" beard and refers to prosecutor Ken Kratz as "swashbuckling."

BUTING'S FAITH

Speaking of fresh angles, the National Catholic Reporter talks to Buting about faith, values and defending a low-income client accused of a brutal homicide.

"Jesus reached out to the underclass of society, including the poor, mentally ill and imprisoned, and so did (my wife and I)," he said. "They are humans the same as anyone, but often are cast aside by the rest of society. Unfortunately, society doesn't want to provide the financial and other resources for those who are charged with or convicted of crimes."

Buting's wife, Kathleen Stilling, is also his law partner.

INNOCENCE NEWS

The Innocence Project, often the last chance for people convicted of serious crimes, is hoping for a win this week in a 22-year-old case in Oklahoma. From the NPR station in Oklahoma City:

"The Oklahoma Innocence Project will go to Tulsa County District Court later this week with new evidence in a 1994 case where two convicted murderers could get another chance to prove they had nothing to do with the crime. Malcolm Scott and Demarchoe Carpenter were 17 when someone drove past a party and shot into the crowd. Karen Summers died that night, and police focused their attention on the two men after witnesses identified them as the shooters."

ALSO 

From this past weekend, United By Media has a discussion with one of Dassey's post-conviction attorneys Laura Nirider of the Center for the Wrongful Conviction of Youth.

And from earlier today …

►"You can dance to it:" Don't have time to watch 10 hours of the documentary? Have two minutes, 23 seconds? FunkTheNews has something for you.

According to BoingBoing.com, FTN has boiled MaM down to a 2:23 music video, and "you can dance to it."

►Ask a supermodel: Sports Illustrated joins the fray with news that supermodel Gigi Hadid did some binge-watching — she apparently doesn't read Bustle — and then went on a Twitter rant. And, shocker, SI uses the opportunity to post some photos of Hadid's SI Swimsuit Issue work.

►Nancy Grace on fire? Nancy Grace continues to talk about "Making a Murderer," as she is wont to do. In this segment with ABC's Dan Abrams (who appears to have misplaced his razor), she discusses Avery's recent letter claiming the real killer is still on the loose. And she has flames coming from over her shoulder.

►You busy this Saturday? Investigation Discovery is premiering its special on Avery, titled “Steven Avery: Innocent or Guilty?” on Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. ET, Variety reports.

►Binge-watching = Bad: Don't binge-watch "Making a Murderer," Bustle says, because you'll miss a lot of important stuff. They interview an expert who says binge-watching creates an effect in the viewer that's similar to being punch-drunk. And, clearly, you don't want watching TV to feel like being repeatedly hit in the face,

►Ozarks angle: There's a guy in the Ozarks who was wrongly convicted of murder. He says lots of people want to talk to him about "Making a Murderer."

"Cases should not be tried on Netflix, NBC, ABC or Fox,” Josh Kezer tells SEMissourian.com. “This man may have been convicted with an unfair bias. It’s OK to be ignorant, but it’s not OK to deny your ignorance.”

►Over in Ireland: Talk-show host Ray D'Arcy is taking a ton of heat for a weekend interview with Strang. Commenters like those at The Irish Independent are calling the interview "cringeworthy" and D'Arcy "unprepared."

►Next up: What if someone made another film that was VERY similar to "Making a Murderer," but it was fiction?

"A new movie just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and it could practically be a fictionalized version of the documentary," Hollywoodlife gushes. "'The Free World' is about a man exonerated for his crimes and then, something happens that might jeopardize that new-found freedom."

dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider