WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After it received more than 100,000 signatures, the White House has responded to an online petition asking President Barack Obama to pardon Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.
The signatures are in response to the Netflix series "Making a Murderer."
The following is the response from the White House:
Because Avery was convicted of a state offense, Governor Scott Walker is the only person who could pardon him.
Walker said earlier this week he will not pardon Avery or Dassey.
"Just because a documentary on TV says something doesn't mean that's actually what the evidence shows," Walker said. "The bottom line is that there was a crime that was committed a decade ago.There is a system in the judicial system by which individuals can petition the courts to get relief like others have done in the past that shows that someone might actually be innocent. But I am not going to override a system that is already put in place."
Avery and Dassey were convicted of murdering Halbach in 2005. They are each serving life sentences -- Avery without the possibility of parole.
A separate Change.org petition to "free Steven Avery" has more than 300,000 signatures. That petition is addressed to the President and to Governor Walker.