MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Steven Avery is again complaining about the lack of a decision in his latest post-conviction motions.
Avery is serving a life sentence for freelance photographer Teresa Halbach’s 2005 murder. Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey was also convicted. Their cases received worldwide attention with the 2015 release of the Netflix series “Making A Murderer.”
In Avery’s most recent post-conviction motion brief — filed in late January — attorney Kathleen Zellner places the blame for the murder on another witness at the trial. She has requested an evidentiary hearing so that the court can hear from an eye witness who says they saw this alternate suspect with Halbach’s vehicle, which Zellner claims was then used to plant evidence against Avery. Prosecutors have opposed the request.
In May, a letter was sent to the courts, complaining about a lack of a decision in the case. Days later, Avery apologized, saying he didn’t consult with his attorneys, calling the submission “improper and inappropriate.”
But in a three-page letter filed Tuesday with the Court of Appeals, Avery again criticizes Sheboygan County Judge Angela Sutkiewicz for not issuing a ruling in what he argues is a 90-day deadline. He asks the appeals court to take action.
(The spelling and punctuation are taken from the original document.)
Avery describes himself as a “twice wrongfully incarcerated Wisconsin man who has had his life stoen from him.”
“The 90-day period has now lapsed–where then is the certification and notification as prescribed above? Has the judge been disabled by sickness? Has the judge failed to comply with these requirements? If so what remedial measures have been recommended?,” he wrote. “FAILURE TO KEEP FROM HARM, AND COLOR OF LAW ABUSES, I”m A 1000% INNOCENT MAN AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR A INNOCENT MAN TO PROOF MY INNOCENTS IN THE COURT OF LAW. STEVEN AVERY, JUSTICE!”
As with the letters earlier this year, it is not signed by or sent from his attorney.
Prosecutors have not responded to Avery’s letter. No hearings are scheduled.
Dassey has no appeals pending — his latest appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018.
