Steven Avery, the convicted killer featured in Netflix's "Making a Murderer," won't be pardoned if Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has anything to do about it.
Tens of thousands of people have signed petitions for Avery to be exonerated in the October 2005 killing of Teresa Halbach after the documentary suggested that Avery might have been a stooge for a conspiracy.
Avery, 53, insists he didn't kill Halbach, a 25-year-old freelance photographer. He is serving life in prison for murder, and Brendan Dassey, his nephew, who was a teenager at the time of the killing, is serving life as an accessory.
The White House has previously pointed out that President Barack Obama can't pardon Avery because he wasn't convicted of a federal crime.
Related: 'Making a Murderer' Inspires Pardon Petitions for Steven Avery
And Monday, Walker — a tough-on-crime Republican who has never issued a pardon during his five years in office — indicated in a statement posted to social media that he wouldn't start with Avery.
The statement links to an August 2011 decision by a three-judge panel of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The judges upheld Avery's conviction, ruling that the removal of a juror from his trial and the introduction of key evidence found in his home were proper.
Kathleen Zellner, an Illinois lawyer who specializes in seeking reversals of convictions, took over last week as head of Avery's defense. She said in a statement that the defense has uncovered new evidence that will exonerate Avery — but she didn't say what it was.
