Two online petitions demanding the pardon of Steven Avery, the subject of the popular Netflix series Making a Murderer, have together received 100,000 signatures, just two weeks after the documentary premiered online. 
 
 *UPDATE* The petitions to free Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey have no reached over 150,000 signatures. Read the full story here. 
 
 The petitions, which are hosted on the official White House petition website and Change.org, have collectively gained a total of 114,679 signatures since they were created shortly after the show's premiere on 18 December 2015. 
 
 Making a Murderer documents the story of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who was sent to prison in 1985 for sexual assault and attempted murder. DNA evidence later proved that he was innocent of the crimes, and Avery was released from prison in 2003 after his conviction was overturned. 
 
 Two years after his release and his filing of a $36 million (£24.4 million) lawsuit against Manitowoc County for his wrongful conviction, he was again accused and later convicted for the murder of Teresa Halbach, a photographer who was last seen near Avery's family home. 
 
 Avery has always maintained his innocence of both alleged crimes, and during his second trial his defence team claimed Manitowoc County police had framed him for Halbach's murder. He is currently serving a life sentence at Wisconsin's Waupun Correctional Institution. 
 
 Through chronicling Avery's story, the documentary has shone a light on the challenges and alleged failings of the criminal justice system, making allegations of improper interrogations and forced confessions. 
 
 It has also picked up a huge following online, with many fans poring over the details of the case themselves and asserting the innocence of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who was also implicated in Halbach's death. 
 
 The text of the White House petition, which currently has around 18,000 signatures, says that Avery and Dassey "should be given a full pardon by President Obama for their wrongful conviction in the connection to the murder of Teresa Halbach." 
 
 "Based on the evidence in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, the justice system embarrassingly failed both men, completely ruining their entire lives." 
 
 Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 show all Timeline: Steven Avery's convictions 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/5 1985: Steven Avery is falsely convicted of raping a Penny Beernsten She was jogging along the shore of Lake Michigan when she was threatened with a knife and attacked. Ms Beernsten identified Avery as her rapist from a line-up that did not include the actual attacker. AFP/Getty Images 
 
 2/5 2003: Conviction overturned Avery's 32-year prison sentence was overturned after DNA testing by the Wisconsin Innocence Project proved his innocence and found a hair from Gregory Allen. He was convicted of the rape and Avery was released. 
 
 3/5 2004: Avery files federal lawsuit against Manitowoc County police A Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation found police had committed no criminal offences or ethics violations, sparking a lawsuit from Avery seeking $36 million compensation. 
 
 4/5 2005: Avery is arrested for Teresa Halbach's murder His Avery Auto Salvage business was the freelance photographer's last appointment of 31 October. She was reported missing four days later and police later found her car, bones, teeth and belongings at the site. Avery pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. 
 
 5/5 201: Netflix releases Making a Murderer The 10-episode documentary came after Avery's conviction was upheld in a 2011 appeal. 
 
 It also alleges that Manitowoc County police used "improper methods" to ensure the conviction of both men, and calls the entire episode a "black mark on the justice system as a whole." This petition still needs around 80,000 signatures before it is considered by White House staff. 
 
 The Change.org petition, which currently has around 97,000 signatures, also says Avery should recieve a presidential pardon, and calls for the Manitowoc County officials involved in the case to be "held accountable" in front of the law. 
 
 Officials have denied the series' claims of legal wrongdoing, with Manitowoc County Sheriff Robert Hermann telling local newspaper the Herald Times Reporter that the filmmakers "have taken things out of context and taken them out of the order in which they occurred, which can lead people to a different opinion or conclusion." 
 
 Former district attorney Ken Kratz, who acted as prosecutor in Avery and Dassey's trials, also told a local news station that "80 to 90 per cent" of the physical evidence that allegedly ties Avery to Halbach's murder was not presented in the documentary. 
 
 He alleged the show's creators, Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, had not given him the opportunity to respond to the documentary's claims - something the filmmakers deny. 
 
 All 10 episodes of Making a Murderer are currently available to stream on Netflix. ||||| FILE - In this March 13, 2007 file photo, Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton, Wis. A lawyer is asking for a new trial for Avery, a Wisconsin... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this March 13, 2007 file photo, Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton, Wis. A lawyer is asking for a new trial for Avery, a Wisconsin... (Associated Press) 
 
 APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — A lawyer on Wednesday asked for a new trial for a Wisconsin man convicted in a case profiled in the "Making a Murderer" Netflix series. 
 
 Steven Avery's conviction was based on planted evidence and false testimony, attorney Kathleen Zellner says in a 1,272-page document she filed. She contends Avery deserves a new trial "in the interests of justice" and because "the real controversy was never tried," USA Today Network-Wisconsin (http://post.cr/2rCtIju ) reported. 
 
 The Wisconsin Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment. 
 
 Avery, 54, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the 2005 death of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County. 
 
 Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, confessed to detectives he helped his uncle rape and kill Halbach at the Avery family's salvage yard. A judge overturned Dassey's conviction in August, ruling that investigators took advantage of the then-16-year-old Dassey's cognitive disabilities and tricked him into confessing. State attorneys are appealing that decision. 
 
 Both Avery and Dassey maintain their innocence. The case gained national attention in 2015 after Netflix aired "Making a Murderer," a multi-part documentary examining Halbach's death. Authorities who worked on the case say the series was biased. The filmmakers have defended their work. 
 
 In Wednesday's filing, Zellner contends that Avery's trial attorneys failed to prove that evidence had been planted because they lacked experts and they did not conduct a thorough investigation. She also maintains that a spare key for Halbach's sport utility vehicle found in Avery's bedroom was planted by sheriff's deputies. Officials involved in the case have denied any misconduct. 
 
 "Because the State did not need to establish motive, it did not spend any time trying to figure out why Ms. Halbach was murdered," Zellner wrote. "Both Mr. Avery and Ms. Halbach are victims of a justice system whose success depends upon the integrity, competence and devotion of judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Both Ms. Halbach and Mr. Avery have yet to receive justice." 
 
 Dean Strang, one of Avery's trial lawyers, said he and Avery's other trial attorney, Jerry Buting, are glad that Zellner filed the motion and its supporting documents. 
 
 "All that really matters here, to us and we hope to everyone, is that we get closer to the truth in this case and to justice for everyone," Strang said in an email to the AP. 
 
 In November, Zellner announced that an agreement had been signed to begin independent scientific testing on several critical pieces of evidence. 
 
 Avery and Dassey contend they were framed by law enforcement angry with Avery for filing a lawsuit against Manitowoc County over his wrongful imprisonment for a sexual assault he didn't commit. 
 
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 Information from: Post-Crescent Media, http://www.postcrescent.com ||||| FILE - In a Friday, March 3, 2006 file photo, Brendan Dassey is escorted out of a Manitowoc County Circuit courtroom, in Manitowoc, Wis. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit on Thursday, June 22,... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In a Friday, March 3, 2006 file photo, Brendan Dassey is escorted out of a Manitowoc County Circuit courtroom, in Manitowoc, Wis. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit on Thursday, June 22, 2017 affirmed that Dassey, a Wisconsin inmate featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" was... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In a Friday, March 3, 2006 file photo, Brendan Dassey is escorted out of a Manitowoc County Circuit courtroom, in Manitowoc, Wis. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit on Thursday, June 22, 2017 affirmed that Dassey, a Wisconsin inmate featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" was... (Associated Press) FILE - In a Friday, March 3, 2006 file photo, Brendan Dassey is escorted out of a Manitowoc County Circuit courtroom, in Manitowoc, Wis. A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit on Thursday, June 22,... (Associated Press) 
 
 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The confession of a Wisconsin inmate featured in the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" was improperly obtained and he should be retried or released from prison, a three-judge federal appeals panel ruled Thursday. 
 
 Brendan Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 in photographer Teresa Halbach's death on Halloween two years earlier. Dassey told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family's Manitowoc County salvage yard. Avery was sentenced to life in a separate trial. 
 
 A federal magistrate judge ruled in August that investigators coerced Dassey, who was 16 years old at the time and suffered from cognitive problems, into confessing and overturned his conviction. The state Justice Department appealed the ruling to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a move that kept Dassey, now 27, behind bars pending the outcome. 
 
 A three-judge panel from the Chicago-based 7th Circuit upheld the magistrate's decision to overturn his conviction. Wisconsin can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, ask for a review by the full 7th Circuit or retry Dassey within 90 days. 
 
 Johnny Koremenos, a spokesman for Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, said the office expects to seek review by the full 7th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court, and hopes "that today's erroneous decision will be reversed." 
 
 "We continue to send our condolences to the Halbach family as they have to suffer through another attempt by Mr. Dassey to re-litigate his guilty verdict and sentence," Koremenos said. 
 
 Dassey's lawyers from the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University said they're elated and will take immediate steps to secure his release. 
 
 Attorney Laura Nirider said they want to send Dassey home to his mother as soon as possible. She said they did the math and determined that he had been in prison for 4,132 days as of Thursday. 
 
 The center's director, Steven Drizin, said the ruling provides a model for the kind of thorough analysis that courts should always undertake in assessing whether a confession was voluntary, and highlights the importance for teenagers to have parents or trusted adults in the interrogation room. 
 
 "While these tactics might not have overwhelmed a seasoned criminal or a 30-year-old with a law degree, they clearly overwhelmed a 16-year-old, socially avoidant, intellectually limited (youth) who had never been interrogated by the police before," he said. 
 
 The appellate panel split, with Judges Ilana Rovner and Ann Williams affirming and David Hamilton in dissent. The majority opinion by Rovner said "no reasonable court" could have any confidence that Dassey's confession was voluntary. It cited "the leading, the fact-feeding, the false promises, the manipulation of Dassey's desire to please" as among many factors that cast it in doubt. 
 
 Hamilton, in dissent, wrote: "The majority's decision breaks new ground and poses troubling questions for police and prosecutors. It calls into question standard interrogation techniques that courts have routinely found permissible, even in cases involving juveniles." 
 
 Avery and Dassey contend they were framed by police angry with Avery for suing Manitowoc County over his wrongful conviction for sexual assault. Avery spent 18 years in prison in that case before DNA tests showed he didn't commit the crime. He's pursuing his own appeal in state court. 
 
 Their cases gained national attention in 2015 after Netflix aired "Making a Murderer," a multi-part documentary looking at Halbach's death, the ensuing investigation and trials. The series sparked widespread conjecture about the pair's innocence and has garnered them a massive following on social media pushing for their release. 
 
 Authorities who worked on the cases insisted the documentary is biased. Ken Kratz, the prosecutor, wrote in his book "Avery" that Dassey was "a shuffling, mumbling young man with bad skin and broken-bowl haircut" who could have saved Halbach's life but instead involved himself in her rape and murder and Avery is "by any measure of the evidence, stone guilty." 
 
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 Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Gretchen Ehlke contributed from Milwaukee.
– Ten years before Making a Murderer fans started debating Steven Avery's case at just about every water cooler in the country, Monica Davey was just another reporter covering Avery's arrest on suspicion of the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc, Wis. The news came just as Avery was pursuing a $36 million civil lawsuit against a former prosecutor and sheriff, having recently been acquitted of a sexual assault for which he spent 18 years in prison. "There are 36 million reasons why they should be doing this to him," Davey quoted Avery's brother as saying in a 2005 New York Times article. It caught the eye of two graduate student filmmakers, who would spend the next decade creating Making a Murderer. The series has forced Manitowoc to relive its darkest history and has left the county transformed, Davey writes at the Times following a return visit. While the county tourism office used to field calls about jogging paths and beaches, callers now question why the office would want to draw visitors to such a town. The local police and sheriff's departments, city hall, and even the Manitowoc County Historical Society are forced to listen to "yelling, cussing, and swearing," says an official. As for Manitowoc residents, "the talkative, curious people I had come upon a decade earlier … avoided any talk about Making a Murderer, or simply spotted my notebook and walked away," writes Davey. One, however, said she was fearful of a rally in support of Avery, scheduled for Friday, per WBAY. Even Avery's mother, who ardently defends her son, says the calls for interviews are overwhelming. "I'm too old for this," she says. "It's too much." Read Davey's full piece here.