Obama Denies Steven Avery Pardon: Why the 'Making a Murderer' Petition Failed

Steven Avery’s supporters will need to look for another way to try to get him out of prison: President Obama has turned down petitioners asking him to pardon the “Making a Murderer” subject.

“Since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are both state prisoners, the President cannot pardon them. A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.

A petition arguing that Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey were wrongly convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach earned nearly 130,000 signatures in a matter of days, crossing the threshold required to merit a response from the president.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Investigation Discovery Says 'Critical Details Missing' From Netflix Series

But the White House said that’s a matter for the state of Wisconsin, where they are serving prison terms. The statement did stress, however, that Obama is committed “to restoring the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system” and has issued 66 pardons.

The Avery case has drawn intense scrutiny since Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” investigated it. On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton was asked about it in a town hall, and conceded that she wasn’t familair with the show.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer' Does Not Convince Nancy Grace That Steven Avery Is Innocent (Video)

Here’s the White House’s full statement, and a chart it included in its response:

Thank you for signing a We the People petition on the Teresa Halbach murder case, currently featured on the “Making a Murderer” documentary series. We appreciate your interest in this case.

To best respond to your petition, we should go over what exactly presidential pardoning power entails.

The U.S. Constitution grants the power of clemency to the President:

“The President … shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States.”

This clemency authority empowers the President to exercise leniency towards persons who have committed federal crimes. Under the Constitution, only federal criminal convictions, such as those adjudicated in the United States District Courts, may be pardoned by the President. In addition, the President’s pardon power extends to convictions adjudicated in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and military court-martial proceedings. However, the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense.

Since Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are both state prisoners, the President cannot pardon them. A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities.

While this case is out of the Administration’s purview, President Obama is committed to restoring the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system. That’s why he has granted 184 commutations total — more than the last five presidents combined — and has issued 66 pardons over his time in office.

'Making a Murderer': Where Are They Now? (Photos)

Ken Kratz: The Avery case prosecutor says he has overcome an addiction to prescription pain pills since the trial and gone through the public humiliation of a sexting scandal. He maintains his license and now serves as a defense attorney.
Netflix
Mike Halbach: The brother of murder victim Teresa Halbach has served as a Halbach family spokesperson is now the director of Football Technology for the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay Packers
Sgt. Andrew Colburn is now Lt. Andrew Colburn. He holds the title in the Detective Division of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office.
Netflix
Gregory Allen: Allen, who was found to have committed the rape for which Steven Avery spent 18 years behind bars, is serving a 60-year prison sentence for a 1995 sexual assault. He's up for parole in October 2016.
Netflix
Sheriff Tom Kocourek: Kocourek retired from his post in 2001. He was named as a defendant in a $36 million federal lawsuit brought forward by Avery.
Netflix
Angenette Levy: Levy, a journalist who garnered a lot of "Making A Murderer" playback attention for asking the tough questions, is now an on-air reporter for WKRC in Cincinnati.
Netflix
Aaron Keller: Levy, another reporter, is now an English/Communications professor at NHTI, Concord’s Community College in New Hampshire.
Netflix
Dean Strang: Strang recently said that he occasionally speaks with Avery, his former client. The defense attorney is not shying away from the spotlight, and recently took part in a Facebook Q&A. The trial lawyer is a partner at Strang Bradley LLC in Madison.
Strang Bradley LLC
Denis Vogel: The ex-DA is now an attorney at Wheeler, Van Sickle and Anderson, S.C., where he concentrates on commercial litigation, with a focus on matters involving utilities, electricity use and distribution, and cellular telecommunications.
Wheeler Law
Steven Avery: Well, he's in jail -- the Waupun Correctional Institute, to be exact.
The Innocence Project
Brendan Dassey: On August 12, 2016, a federal judge overturned his 2007 conviction for first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse. Avery's nephew had been sentenced to Avery's nephew sentenced to life with no parole for 41 years for Halbach's murder.
Netflix
Sheriff Ken Peterson: Peterson retired as Manitowoc County sheriff in 2007, just two years after he now-famously told a TV station it would have been "a whole lot easier to eliminate [Avery] than it would to frame him."
Netflix
Barb Tadych: Brendan's mom has publicly kept a low profile since all the "Making a Murderer" hype began. Tadych appears to remain in the area, as her most recent social media check-in was at a Center for Diagnostic Imaging in Appleton, Wis.
Netflix
Sandy Greenman: It appears that Avery and Greenman are still an item. Per what appears to be her Facebook page, Greenman visited Avery in prison as recently as Monday.
Bustle
James Lenk: Lenk has managed to keep one of the lowest profiles of the entire "Making A Murderer" gang. It is unclear whether has a Netflix subscription.
Netflix
Jodi Stachowski: Steven's ex-fiancee has had some legal troubles. In April 2007, she was found guilty of using worthless checks. She was arrested three times in 2009. Since then, Stachowski has stayed out of major criminal trouble.
Bustle