Like most of the nation, I am captivated by “Making a Murderer” the Netflix docuseries of Steven Avery. In case you are living under a rock, Steven Avery is the Wisconsin man wrongly convicted of sexual assault in 1985, and after spending 18 years behind bars, was exonerated and released, while the real criminal continued to assault other women during that time.

There was serious mishandling and evidence that was ignored by the Manitowoc Sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office. The good news, Avery was finally vindicated when DNA evidence proved his innocence 18 years later. The bad news, he was arrested two years later and convicted for the murder of a young woman, Teresa Halbach. Is Steven Avery a monster or the world’s most unlucky guy?

When you watch this ten-part series you will be amazed at your range of emotions. The first three episodes go over what occurred in Avery’s first trial for the sexual assault of Penny Beemsten. Outrage and repugnance sit in your lap as you learn about the levels of corruption by officials in Wisconsin.

In the middle of the series a sadness creeps in like fog from Lake Michigan, during Avery’s second trial. Clip after clip after clip of corruption, misconduct, procedural failures, lack of evidence, even a “magic bullet” begin to take a toll because we already know the outcome.

At the end, when Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey (16), who has a learning disability, is given a life sentence, a profound helplessness takes over because you realize that even though you may want to help these two unlucky and unfortunate inviduals whose only crime seems to be poverty and lack of education, but there’s nothing you can do.

Many are calling “Making a Murderer” one-sided. Okay, perhaps it is. But even if after watching the entire series you still don’t know if Avery is innocent of murdering Halbach, you will in no uncertain terms agree that both Avery and Dassey deserve new trial.

For nine years I worked as a licensed private investigator. I worked for a small firm that investigated insurance fraud claims. We checked out staged automobile accidents, suspicious mobile home fires, and questionable burglaries – that sort of stuff. But there were four occasions during my tenure when we were hired as the court appointed investigators – if there was enough money in the budget after the court appointed attorney was hired. I was fortunate to participate in this process and received quite the education.

For starters, I learned what a “crime” it is to be poor and in the system. Quite frankly, once the system has you, it doesn’t let go. And of the three cases we worked on, only one was dismissed, the others received convictions. But this dismissal occurred after keeping the young man locked up in juvenile detention for two years. During this time his family became fractured, never to recover.

The creators of this documentary, Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, have stated their intention was to start a dialogue about the criminal justice system in our nation. Mission accomplished!Ricciardi and Demos dedicated 10 years of their lives to this documentary and at one point were required to hire their own attorney to fight Manitowoc officials who tried to subpoena their records. So I asked myself, how does a woman from Texas who wants to see a gross injustice made right? How can I make a difference when all those who came before me, who were much more educated on the matter, could not?

The first thing I did was sign two petitions to grant clemency or new trials for Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. I felt great for all of five minutes. Then I read these petitions have “zero chance” of working. Governor Scott Walker in his two terms has never issued a pardon and has been quoted as saying “he doesn’t intend to start now.” And for President Obama, he has said he“doesn’t have the legal authority” in these matters. For Avery, all of his appeals have being exhausted, barring any new evidence, but Dassey has one last chance.

If a new trial is granted, for either, funds will be needed to pay for the attorneys. However, most of the sites I found claiming to be part of the Avery/Dassey team are not legitimate. I would caution anyone against this avenue for the time being. When a new trial is granted, that will be the time to raise funds.

But let’s not forget that at the heart of this matter is the dead, young woman, Teresa Halbach. Igrieve for her family as this tragic event is being rehashed, debated and argued yet again.However, if you were the parent and there was a possibility the real killer was still out there, wouldn’t you want to find them? Perhaps funds should go towards finding the “real” killer. Just like Avery’s first stint in prison, the real criminal was free and able to commit crimes. And he did.

But what else can be done to help Avery? Is starting a dialogue enough to ensure that justice is given a fair chance? And what would “fair” look like in the state of Wisconsin? Most of the nation by now is wary of anything being handled in the Wisconsin court systems. Whichever court this goes to, and I think it should go somewhere far away, it needs to be a place where justice is blind, but not deaf and dumb.

Karen Daniels is a blogger at www.mycomedytherapy.com and her mission is to make you laugh, chuckle, grin or smile as she tries to find the upside of life. It takes effort to be a glass-is-half-full type person. So if you’re like Karen and cope through humor, then check out her website and together we’ll get through this thing called life.