Emily Adams

September 21th, 2016

Assignment 1
Summary / Give Background
The public forms opinions on some criminal court cases based on the information
they are given through modern media such as movies, podcasts, documentaries, and docuseries.
The portrayal of court cases in this form has almost become its own genre. There are several
specific instances where this has happened that interest me because I am curious to know how
the publicity that certain court cases receive could eventually impact the end result for those
criminals.
Making a Murderer, a Netflix Original docuseries, recounts the criminal charges
against Steven Avery throughout his life including burglary, animal cruelty, indecent exposure,
sexual assault, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm, and first degree murder. He was
convicted and spent 18 years in prison before new evidence surfaces that proved his innocence.
Years before he was freed, the man who actually committed the crime confessed but nothing was
done to correct the wrongdoing. Averys life started to seem as if it was going to change for the
better until November of 2005 when Teresa Halbach is reported missing. Steven Averys home
was the last place she was seen alive. According to a statement given by Brendan Dassey,
Averys nephew, the two physically and sexually assaulted Halbach, shot her, and burned her
body. It later seemed as if the confession had been forced out of him considering he was taken
out of class three times and questioned alone until he confessed. A key aspect of both Averys

cases was the possible mishandling of the case. Since the docuseries came out in 2015, thousands
of people have signed a petition to get Steven Avery released from prison due to their belief of
his innocence.
Unlike Avery and his family, Bernie Tiede was extremely well liked in his hometown of
Carthage, Texas. He was so widely loved that in 1999 when the morticians assistant confessed to
shooting and killing a wealthy 81-year-old woman, the town stood by him. When Marjorie
Nugents husband passed away, he went to see if there was anything he could do for her. They
grew to be close friends and she bought him extravagant gifts. She eventually gave him power of
attorney and her late husband's seat on the board of directors at the First National Bank. He was
the only person close to her so when she went missing, nobody noticed for 9 months. Nugents
estranged son gave the police permission to search her home where she was found in the garage,
stuffed in a freezer with 4 bullet wounds in her back. Based on the reputation that Tiede had built
up prior to the murder, nearly everyone who knew the former Sunday school teacher wanted him
to walk free, despite the fact that he had already admitted his guilt. In 2011, a movie entitled
Bernie came out recreating the events leading up to the murder. In this comedy, which was
nominated for a Golden Globe Award, there are testaments from real Carthage citizens sharing
how wonderful Bernie was, saying things like, Bernie was a very charismatic man; a loving
person. He had the ability to make the world seem kind. On the other hand, one citizen
described Marjorie as mean, old, and hateful. Tiede was portrayed as an all-around great person
who was driven to commit murder by a wicked and bitter old woman as if it was her own fault
that she was killed. After the movie became widely known, Tiede stated in an interview that he
had just snapped and that it was a one-time thing. After it was revealed in 2014 that he was
abused as a child, a judge approved that Tiede could be released from prison on a $10,000 bond.

Compared to Avery and Tiede, things went quite differently in the case of Robert Durst.
Throughout Dursts life, he was a suspect in the case of his neighbors murder, his best friends
murder, and the disappearance of his wife whose body has never been found. In each of these
cases, Durst walked away a free man. In 2010, a movie came out that was inspired by the
disappearance of Robert Dursts wife in which all blame pointed towards him. The film was
entitled All Good Things. Many saw him as a villain and suspected that he did not deserve his
freedom so Durst reached out to a documentary crew in hopes that he could show the world that
he wasn't the horrible person most people thought he was. Through the docuseries, the Jinx,
the producers partook in large amounts of research and conducted many interviews, including
three with Durst himself. The entire docuseries leads up to final minutes of the last episode. They
finished the last interview and Durst made his way to the bathroom before he left. There, not
realizing his mic was still recording, he stated to himself, Well there it is. You're caught then he
goes on to add, What have I done? Killed them all. Of course. These three murder cases were
heavily impacted by the image that the media created in the eyes of the public or the just work of
the media on their own.
Interviews
I conducted three interviews with Dr. Elaine OReilly, Dr. Lori Van Wallendale, and
superior court Judge Jesse Caldwell. Dr. OReilly and Dr. Van Wallendale are both psychology
professors at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Van Wallendale specializes in several
topics, some of which are specific towards my research like human decision-making, juror
decisions, eyewitness/earwitness memory, and false memories. I also interviewed Judge
Caldwell in order to receive some background and insight from the legal side of my research.

The docuseries Making a Murderer, called into question whether Brendan Dassey was coerced
into giving his confession. How is it possible that someone be talked into confessing something
like rape and murder if they never actually did it?

Elaine OReilly: In general, I thing if somebody has a confession and it seems

that what they have said actually did happen then there is some connection there. It could, in
some cases be the pressure to get out of the situation, to get out of that room. In Brendan
Dasseys case, there were details that he gave that no one would have known unless they
were there. I think in general, there are people who actually do submit falsely to get out of
the situation and the pressure. Psychologically people can cave. Our ability to recollect
accurate information isn't very good. So if you're on the receiving end of questioning, one
might start to question their own thoughts and beliefs.

Lori Van Wallendale: Its actually fairly common for people to confess to things
that they did not do, particularly if they are young and vulnerable. Research suggests that a
substantial percentage of people can be coerced into a false confession when psychological
pressure is applied. Massey may have been led to believe that there was overwhelming
evidence against him, or that the police would go easy on him if he gave testimony against
his uncle. In some cases, people who give a false confession actually develop false memories
of the crime.

Bernie Teide was convicted of murder and later released due to information that later surfaced
which is that he was sexually abused as a child. How could what he went through in the past
have influenced him later in life, including his decision to shoot his elderly companion?

Elaine OReilly: I don't know enough about his specific case but to me that

seemed like something that could be unrelated. My response would be that a a clinician, I
need to know more. I would need to know if the sexual assault was a one time experience or
was he sexually abused over a long period of time. I wonder if in the real world he made the
case for, it was like being abused all over again and he had a flashback and he was acting out
on the earlier abuse.
Lori Van Wallendale: Sexual abuse can be a factor in all kinds of troubled

behavior later in life. However, its important to note that MOST people who are sexually
abused are NOT violent. So abuse should not be used as an excuse for violent behavior. I
think in this case, the judge was looking for a reason to release Teide, probably because of
pressure due to the tv series, and so he grasped at any rationale for doing so.

Robert Durst had an abnormal upbringing. He was oldest child of an extremely wealthy family.
He saw his mother standing on the roof of their home shortly before she committed suicide. How
could this have been a factor that attributed to his violent future?
Elaine OReilly: One thought I had with that was did his dad kill her. Then it

could be part genetics. Or was he so traumatized by that, that he did not develop in a healthy
manner.

Lori Van Wallendale: Again, we dont know enough. Did his father push his
mother? Did he personally push his mother? Did his mother jump? Any of these things
would have had a large impact on him, but we have no way of knowing that this is really
what happened.

Based on Robert Dursts desire to do a documentary even though he knew his own guilt, would
you say he has a personality disorder or mental disease? If so, what other characteristics exist for
people with his specific disorder? Along those same lines, Durst also chose to shoplift from a
supermarket while he was on the run even though he has more than enough cash to pay for the
products. Is there any reason to suspect he would have wanted to be caught and why?

Elaine OReilly: The shoplifting is not an uncommon thing for people who have
money to act out and shoplift when they actually could buy it. A large example is Lindsay
Lohan. I would categorize it under a compulsion. I would also consider him sociopathic. I
don't know anywhere near enough to make a diagnosis but based on just the information I've
been given. The fact that Durst himself enjoyed the movie that cast him as the bad guy [All
Good Things] and he wanted to make the documentary makes him seem almost narcissistic.
Especially that he knew he was guilty of doing those things, thats very narcissistic. I would
not be surprised if there was some kind of pathological diagnosis.

Lori Van Wallendale: You cant diagnose a personality disorder or other mental
disorder with such limited information. It takes a lot of careful testing, personal
interviewing, and a trained clinician (which I am not). Also, what you see on television is
not going to be an accurate picture of Durst.

How do you feel high profile cases, such as the Steven Avery case and the Bernie Tiede case,
have been changed or influenced by the support system the men gained after their
movie/docuseries?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: It certainly would appear that criminal defendants like
those you have described, often benefit from high profile post-verdict publicity, particularly

if there are films or television documentaries about their cases.This is happening now in the
case of Mark Carver, convicted of killing a UNCC student in Gaston County by the Catawba
River. (google it) Recent television coverage had accelerated the band wagon of those
clamoring for his innocence and "vindication". Though in many instances it may be a
negative thing, in some cases it may be very positive. An illustration is the case of Darryl
Hunt here in North Carolina, who was in fact finally exonerated, thanks in large part to wide
spread publicity and support AFTER his sentences (he had two trials).( google that too)
In The Jinx, when the interviewer shows Durst the handwriting comparison in the final
episode, why wouldn't something like that have been used as evidence in court?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: It is impossible for anyone who is not on a lawyer's team
to know why that lawyer did or did not offer evidence they could have introduced, or knew
or should have known of it's existence. All anyone, legal or otherwise, can do is speculate.
Having said, that, certainly handwriting experts often testify in court, but the one offering an
opinion has to be an "expert" in that field. They are not hard to find. The jury, certainly, is
free to make it's own mind up about handwriting comparisons in that event. Again, I could
not speak as to why this was not pursued--only the attorneys could answer that.

Was it unlawful for the producers of The Jinx to not share some of their findings with law
office officials as they discovered new information concerning his case?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: Not knowing the law in the particular jurisdiction where
this case was tried, I could not speak to this. And if I did know, I am not privy to all the facts
surrounding why The Jinx did not share their findings with law enforcement. Those facts
would have a large bearing on this question.

What exactly is a writ of habeas corpus and how could it potentially assists in getting someone
out of prison?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: Both federal and state courts have vehicles by which a
prisoner can challenge the legality of his/her conviction, after both the trial and the appeal.
The federal courts call this a "Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus", and states like North
Carolina call it a "Motion of Appropriate Relief". The grounds for these post-appellate
remedies are limited by statute, and include things like newly discovered evidence,
substantial violations of federal or state constitutional rights, prosecutor's misconduct, etc. If
the defendant makes out a sufficient case to warrant a hearing on the evidence, the judge will
grant a hearing and appoint a lawyer if the defendant wants one and does not have one. If the
judge rules with the defendant, various kinds of relief include a new trial, being given a bond
pending a new trial, an outright dismissal of the charge or a re-sentencing hearing, depending
on the issue and the nature of the claim meriting relief.

What is the appeal process consist of? For what reasons would someone get accepted or denied?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: In North Carolina and many other states, and in the
Federal Courts system, any defendant who is convicted of a crime may appeal his/her case to
the Court of Appeals, which is an appellate court one step below the Supreme Court (This is
true in both North Carolina and Federal District Court). If there is no attorney to perfect the
appeal, the court will appoint one. The court reporter prepares the "record", which is a typed
transcript of everything that went on in court. Th defendant will object to certain errors the
judge made and in a written argument called a "brief", make out his/her case why this relief
should warrant setting aside the conviction. The State or Federal prosecutor will file their

own responsive brief. The Court invites "oral arguments" for the attorneys to verbally explain
their positions, and then votes on the case, and assigns one of the judges or justices to write
an "opinion" ruling on the case, and explaining the legal reasons for the ruling.
How would the fact that Bernie Tiede was sexually abused as a child have been taken in to
account if it had been brought up during his original court case? What do you think the reason is
that nothing about what he went through as a child was brought up during his original court
case? How does knowing that the defendant has suffered sexual abuse influence a court case?
o

Judge Jesse Caldwell: Evidence of a defendant's child abuse is limited in the

ways it can be brought up in a trial in North Carolina. It usually is introduced in a capital
death penalty case or non-capital case as evidence of a "Mitigating " factor or circumstance,
to "lessen" the severity of the sentence and infuse mercy into the process, by showing the
defendant had been sexually abused when young. It could possibly be part of the basis of an
expert mental health witness, who might say that this abuse so scarred the defendant that it
affected his ability to form a specific criminal intent, or helps render an opinion of
diminished mental capacity. This would be rare, I think. but we did see this some years ago
with women killing the men who had savagely beaten them for years, and also in things like
the "Twinkie" defense, of the Harvey Milk case n San Francisco where the theory was the the
blood sugar of eating too many twinkies so whacked the defendant's blood sugar level that he
couldn't form certain intent to kill. ( google it).

(Judge Caldwell commented on the interview as a whole, saying, I regret that because of
judicial ethics, which limits judge's comments about certain topics, so as not to give rise to future
challenges of bias, I have had to give constrained responses.)

Sources
Ideas / Shorte Sear
Questi
ons /

ned

Link to Credible Source

ch

Search Eng

Things Terms

ine

That

Use

Stood

Out
Bernie:
Why

Goo

Bernie gle

was

Tie Sch

the

de

retellin

co

g of a

me

murder

dy

made
into a
comed
y?

olar

http://fq.ucpress.edu/content/68/3/48.abstract

NPR

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152205689/truth-is-strangerthan-fiction-in-bernie

UN
CC
Libr
ary
Data
base
Bernie:
What

Bernie

new

Tie

develo

de

pments

ne

have

occurre

dev

d since

elo

the

pm

movie

ent

came
out?

http://search.proquest.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/docview/22695
6450?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=14605

The

Jinx:

Robert

Do

Du

Robert

rst

Dursts

psy

manner

cho

isms

log

and

ical

ticks

dis

and his

ord

essenti

er

al want
to have
a
docum
entary
done
even
though
he
knows
that he
is

guilty
at all
point
to any
kind of
psycho
logical
disorde
r?
Makin

UN

ga

Steven CC

Murder

Av Libr

er:

ery ary

How

Ca Data

did

se

mistak

Le

es

gal

made

ity

by the
law
assist
in
Steven

base

http://has.sagepub.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/content/40/2/212.f
ull.pdf+html

Avery
s two
convict
ions?
Makin

Makin NPR

ga

ga

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2016/01/22/463846671
/pop-culture-happy-hour-making-a-murderer-true-crime-alan-

Murder Murde

rickman

er:

rer

What

reactio

opinio

ns did
people
develo
p when
watchi
ng the
docum
entary?
Makin

ga

Steven

Murder

Av

er:

ery

What

ne

new

This podcast refers to

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/25/dead-certainty

develo

dev

pments

elo

have

pm

occurre

ent

d in
Steven
Avery
or his
nephe
ws
court
cases?
NPR

Brenda
n
Da
sse
y
ne
w
dev
elo
pm

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2016/08/13/489882661/judge-overturns-conviction-ofmaking-a-murderer-subject-brendan-dassey

ent

Goo

http://www.reid.com/pdfs/Dassey-ruling.pdf

gle
Sch
olar
The

Goo

Jinx

Crimin gle

and

al

Sch

Makin

just olar

ga

ice

Murder

doc

er:

um

While

ent

the

ary

produc

ne

ers

gathere

inf

or

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=2827726&download=yes

inform

ma

ation

tio

about

these
cases
they
were
researc
hing,
did
they
unethic
ally
withho
ld any
new
inform
ation
from
the
police
to help
better

their
docum
entary?

NPR

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/16/393352930/does-success-ofhbos-the-jinx-herald-new-form-of-true-crime-tv

NPR

The

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/16/393403204/hbo-documentarythe-jinx-ends-with-suprising-confession

Jin
x
pro
duc
er
int
egr
ity
The

NPR

Jinx:

Robert

What

Du

new

rst

develo

ne

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2015/03/15/393168862/robert-durst-subject-of-hbos-the-jinxarrested-in-new-orleans

pments

have

dev

come

elo

about

pm

since

ent

the
docuse
ries
came
out?

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2016/04/27/475879949/federal-judge-approves-robert-durstplea-deal-sending-him-to-prison

Proposal
When watching the movie Bernie and the docuseries Making a Murderer and The
Jinks, I questioned what kind of an impact could be had by these media sources and the fanbases
they acquire. After the film Bernie came out in 2011, Bernie Tiede was released from prison after
serving only 15 years of his life sentence for murder. Steven Avery of Making a Murderer has

over 500,000 signatures on a petition to get him pardoned and his nephew recently had his
conviction overturned by a Wisconsin Judge. Robert Durst, not knowing a mic was still
recording after an interview for the docuseries The Jinx, confessed to murdering his first wife,
his best friend from college, and his neighbor. I intend to further research these cases and look
into any other similar instances I come across in order to answer the question, how can the
publicity given to certain court cases and the view of the public on those cases impact the results
for those who are accused.
Literature Review
The public forms opinions on some criminal court cases based on the information they
are given through modern media such as movies, podcasts, documentaries, and docuseries. The
portrayal of court cases in this form has almost become its own genre of true crime television.
Everyday people are given the opportunity to learn detailed, not always unbiased, information on
court cases. They then form opinions on these specific situation and large fan bases form. When
this occurs, it is possible that the publicity causes actions to be made in regards to the court cases
that otherwise, may not have been made. This can be shown by the criminal actions and verdicts
in the cases of Bernie Tiede, Robert Durst, and Steven Avery.
Bernie Tiede confessed to murdering 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent and stuffing her in a
freezer where she would go undiscovered for nine months. In 2011, a film was made about the
movie that practically blames Marjorie for her own death, portraying her as the evil old woman
who drove a kindhearted Bernie Tiede to kill her. After the movie came into theaters, Tiede filed
a writ of habeas corpus and a judge permitted him to be released from prison. The judge ruled
that, upon his release, Tiede would go to live with Richard Linklater, a writer and producer for
the movie (Boyd 51). When making the movie, they did consider how it would be viewed by the

public, considering they were turning the story of a murder into a comedy that sided with the
killer. In an interview on NPR, Skip Hollandsworth who was another producer for the movie
stated, There was always the concern that people would think we were making fun of a death
that's why we tried to keep the story as accurate as possible. Bernie Tiede knew what he had
done and confessed to it; Robert Durst made a confession, but in a more unconventional way.
Throughout Dursts life, he was a suspect in the case of his neighbors murder, his best
friends murder, and the disappearance of his wife whose body has never been found. In each of
these cases, Durst walked away a free man. In 2010, a movie came out that was inspired by the
disappearance of Robert Dursts wife in which all blame pointed towards him. Many saw him
and a villain and suspected that he did not deserve his freedom so when the opportunity
presented itself, Durst practically volunteered to have a documentary done on his life (which
turned into a docuseries) in hopes that he could show the world that he wasn't the horrible person
most people thought he was. Through the docuseries, The Jinx, the producers partook in large
amounts of research and conducted many interviews, including three with Durst himself which,
lead up to durst accidentally stating a practical confession of all three murders into his
microphone when he didnt know anyone was listening. Every viewer was shocked at the
surprising ending and just days later Durst was taken into custody. However, this did call into
question whether or not Andrew Jarecki, a producer on the project, withheld Dursts confession
from the police in order to better the impact and the ratings of the docuseries, essentially
allowing a highly dangerous man to walk free (Folkenflik). Dursts confession, his arrest in New
Orleans, his plea deal, and all of the legal issues he will have to deal with in the future were
likely all caused by The Jinx (Calamur) (Peralta).

The Netflix Original docuseries, Making a Murderer, recounts all of the criminal
charges that Steven Avery has faced in his lifetime. He was falsely accused of rape and attempted
murder due to mishandling of his case by the police causing him to spent 18 years in prison
before the truth surfaced and he was released. Everything was going fine for him until he became
the prime suspect in the disappearance of Teresa Halbach. When his property was searched, a
large amount of evidence was discovered that pointed towards Averys Guilt, including her
charred bones that were found in a burn pit. Avery denied that he had anything to do with her
death however Brendan Dassey, his nephew, confessed that they both raped, beat, and killed
Halbach before burning her remains. Averys nephew was sentenced to life in prison for the
crimes he confessed to committing but since the docuseries came out in 2015, a federal judge in
Wisconsin overturned the conviction. He was set to be released from custody within the
following ninety days, unless prosecutors file an appeal against him (Kennedy). In the small
Wisconsin town where this took place, the Avery family was well known and widely disliked.
They were viewed as the poor rednecks that nobody wanted anything to do with. It is seen as a
possibility that Avery was targeted as a suspect and framed for both the case that he is now
serving a life sentence for a murder that he did not commit simply because he and his family are
not well liked in their town (Del Visco 212-213). A good point is made that applies to all three of
these cases when it is stated that questions that seemed destined for rigorous discussion largely
within the legal profession became the subject of debate among people who had never seen in the
inside of a courtroom or entertained any thought of going to law school (Bazelon 1).
Work Cited Page
Boyd, Katrina G. "Grief Tragically Becoming Comedy." FILM QUART 68.3 (2015): 48-52.

"Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction In 'Bernie'" Interview. Audio blog post. National Public
Radio. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Hollandsworth, Skip. Midnight in the garden of East Texas, vol. 26, Texas Monthly, a
Division of Emmis Publishing, LP, Austin, 1998.
Visco, Stephen Del. "Legality and the Spectacle of Murder: A Review of Netflixs
Making a Murderer (2015)." Rev. of Making a Murderer, by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.
Sage Journals 40 (2016): 212-14. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
"Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Making A Murderer,' True Crime, Alan Rickman." Review.
Audio blog post. National Public Radio. Monkey See, 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Schulz, Kathryn. "Dead Certainty." The New Yorker. N.p., 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 Sept.
2016.
"Judge Overturns Conviction Of 'Making A Murderer' Subject Brendan Dassey." NPR.
NPR, 13 Aug. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
BRENDAN DASSEY v. MICHAEL A. DITTMANN. 1. United States District Court,
Eastern District of Wisconsin. 12 Aug. 2016. Reid. N.p., 12 Aug. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Bazelon, Laura A. Ethics in Criminal Advocacy. Rep. no. 9. Schuster Institute for
Investigate Journalism, Brandeis University. Waltham: n.p., 2016. 1-25. Ethics in Criminal
Advocacy. Social Science Research Network, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
"Does Success Of HBO's 'The Jinx' Herald New Form Of True-Crime TV?" Review.
Audio blog post. NPR. NPR, 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
"HBO Documentary 'The Jinx' Ends With Surprising Confession." Review. Audio blog
post. NPR. NPR, 16 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.

Calamur, Krishnadev. "Robert Durst, Subject Of HBO's 'The Jinx,' Arrested In New
Orleans." NPR. NPR, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Peralta, Eyder. "Federal Judge Approves Robert Durst Plea Deal, Sending Him To
Prison." NPR. NPR, 27 Apr. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.