Socioeconomic Status

A person’s socioeconomic status can play a major role in how a crime is investigated. Socioeconomic status is the social standing of an individual or group, which is calculated by the factors of income, education, and occupation. When it comes to the criminal justice system, believe it or not, your status determines whether you go to jail; “most of the people in the criminal justice system are poor, regardless of race,” stated by Angela Davis, a law professor at American University in Washington, D.C. In the documentary, Making a Murderer, it appears Steven Avery was targeted by the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department. They only focused on him and never considered the possibility of there being any other suspects, ultimately leading to his …show more content…
To begin with, Penny Beerntsen stated that her attacker was a stocky man, about 5’7”, had brown eyes, long, sandy brown hair, and he was wearing white underwear at the time of the attack. Deputy Judy Dvorak, the one appointed to the case at the time, told Beerntsen “that sounds like Steven Avery.” Looking at the description given by Beerntsen, this did not match Steven at all. He had blue eyes and at the time, his hair was in a short, messy cut, and he did not own underwear, three factors that would automatically prove that Steven was not the assailant. Additionally, the sheriff was told multiple times by other policemen that they had the wrong guy. Gregory Allen, a man who seemed to fit the description of Beerntsen’s attacker, had a long criminal history of sexual assault. It was also revealed to the audience that Allen was convicted of an incident that took place along the same beach area where Beerntsen was assaulted. Even with all the evidence proving that Steven did not commit the crime, the Manitowoc County Sheriff Department stated, “not to bother, we have our man Steven Avery.” This could be interpreted that the sheriff department made the case against Steven themselves, and that they wanted to convict him of the crime, regardless of knowing he did not do it; they …show more content…
There were many interviews conducted with family and friends who validated the idea of this unfair treatment. When Steven’s father, Allan Avery, conducted his interview, he stated that “Sheriff Tom Kocourek told Steven ‘I don’t care if you did do it or if you didn’t do it, I am going to get YOU for it!’ Allan also stated there were at least twenty-two witnesses to testify on his behalf and all were accused of being liars. In another interview done by Robert Henak, Steven’s post-conviction lawyer, he presents to the viewers how Steven was accounted for every minute as the crime was being committed. He shows a timeline of everything that Steven was doing from the time the attack took place on Penny Beerntsen to the time Steven and his family went to sleep. Steven’s lawyer, Reesa Evans, was interviewed stating “Sheriff Tom Kocourek ordered for Steven to not be on the jail list, not to have access to the phone, and was denied visitors, completely isolating him in a cell alone so he would not have contact with others.” These interviews leave one to believe that the sheriff in fact broke the law by denying Steven his rights before being convicted by a jury. In addition, the sheriffs made comments to Steven that were unethical, proving furthermore that they were building this case against him and convicting him of this crime knowing he did not do it. It can also be interpreted to mean

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