Steven Avery, the subject of Netflix’s Making a Murderer docu-series, has tested positive for COVID-19.
According to Avery’s former lawyer, Jerome Buting, the 57-year-old inmate is currently confined to his cell. As of now, he’s only experienced “short-lived symptoms and is in good spirits,” Buting reported on Twitter, but asked followers to pray for “a speedy recovery and quick justice.”
Avery is currently serving a life sentence at Wisconsin’s Waupun Correctional Institution after being convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2007. As Avery was previously wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985, and due to issues over the prosecution’s handling of the Halbach case, Avery’s story became the focus on Netflix’s 2015 documentary series Making a Murderer. The subsequent popularity of the series opened new legal doors for Avery and his nephew, Dassey, who was also convicted in the case.
Last year, Avery filed an appeal asking for a new trial and is currently awaiting the judge’s decision. Meanwhile, in 2017 a panel of seven judges on the of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated a federal judge’s decision to overturn Dassey’s conviction on the grounds that his confession had been coerced.
Steven Avery has tested positive for COVID-19, and is confined to his cell. But @SandyGreenman reports he only had short-lived symptoms & is in good spirits. 🙏🏼 for speedy recovery and quick justice. #FreeStevenAvery
— Jerome Buting (@JButing) June 3, 2020
