Steven Avery's mother responds to Making a Murderer, says 'I feel terrible'

Netflix's documentary on Steven Avery has garnered the attention of people worldwide. The 53-year-old Wisconsin man, who was jailed in 2005 for the death of photographer Teresa Halbach, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. However, Avery has maintained his innocence and has alleged the Sheriff's Department in Manitowac County, Wisconsin, may have something to do with his imprisonment. While he remains in prison, his mother Dolores Avery gave her reaction to "Making a Murderer".

"I feel terrible for Steven," the 78-year-old said in a recent interview with Radar Online. She added: "The cops lied."

Steven Avery's imprisonment has sparked a series of petitions on Change.org and on the White House website, asking President Barack Obama to pardon him. The petition, which received more than 100,000 signatures in less than 30 days, evoked a response from the White House.

In its statement, the White House said President Obama cannot pardon Steven Avery since he has been found guilty by the state of Winsconsin. "A pardon in this case would need to be issued at the state level by the appropriate authorities," the statement read.

Wisconsin Governer Scott Walker earlier said he would not pardon Steven Avery.

Although the documentary's directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos revealed that a juror spoke to them about  "vote trading", "coercion" and fear of repercussions while deliberating on the verdict, there is little hope that Steven Avery might benefit from this.

A recent CNN report argued: "The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that to attack — or impeach — a verdict, the new evidence must be (1) competent, (2) show substantive grounds sufficient to overturn the verdict, and (3) show resulting prejudice.

"The problem in the Avery case is the first prong: competence. After a verdict has been reached, Wisconsin law prohibits a juror from testifying about the deliberation process, except when the testimony is about (1) extraneous prejudicial information that infiltrated the jury's attention or (2) any improper outside influence on a juror."

Many believe Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were framed for the death of Teresa Halbach after watching Netflix's "Making a Murderer". The documentary, which depicts Avery and Dassey's investigation and trial, explores the limitations of the criminal justice system in the US.