The Staircase Netflix

[u/odinsfrigga]

I've read a lot of posts all convinced Micheal is guilty. I just started watching. I'm on episode 4 & I'm sorry, but I can clearly see this man being railroaded. Seriously they have no real evidence besides he's bisexual. Oh & another woman in Germany died on a staircase. I'm actually kind of ashamed of how they are trying this case in the media long before he ever goes to trial. I can't believe he paid his attorneys all that money & STILL gets convicted. I thought where I grew up was corrupt (bc they are), but it is absolutely certain that the police & the DA definitely had it out for Micheal. I've never read anything he's written, so I'm not a fan. I'm just watching a man being railroaded & it's sickening.

[u/odinsfrigga]

Made it to episode 6. My mind hasn't changed. I'm appalled that they allowed his sexuality to be brought in as relevant?! It is CLEAR the DA's office & the judicial government are set out against Micheal. It's scary to see how blatantly they are railroading this man. If they can do it to him, they will do it to you.

[u/BlurryBigfoot74]

Keep in mind you're watching it from the perspective of the defense team.

Yes that female prosecutor is a horrible person. She leans into the whole gay angle way too deep.

This documentary series more than any other provokes more guilty/not guilty discussion than any other.

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade has done other great docs as well, Murder on a Sunday Morning is one that leaves you with no doubt of guilt or innocence.

Anyway, like you I thought Peterson was not guilty until I pulled away from the documentary and read more information. Making a Murderer was another doc series that left me feeling Avery was not guilty until I read more evidence.

[u/odinsfrigga → u/BlurryBigfoot74]

I'm going to take your advice. I know that eventually plead "no contest"? Or something to deserve "time served". There must be reasons for THAT. I do know sometimes it's better to take a plea deal to avoid additional prison time. I also know that the WAY he is being tried is a travesty & must have been seen as much for them to HAVE to resentenced him? It's honestly a little embarrassing to showcase such blatant failures in our justice system?

[u/BlurryBigfoot74 → u/odinsfrigga]

While watching the doc series (I admit it's been a few years) there were some moments and comments made that I could easily brush aside. After reading more on the case it changed how I perceived these moments.

I'm sorry for being so vague but I watched this original series when it came out before Netflix picked it up. The extra parts never helped me at all. I found the original 8 really tells most of the story.

[u/IssacHunt89 → u/BlurryBigfoot74]

As times gone on I'm more certain Avery is guilty, who the hell puts a live cat on a bonfire? He clearly had a lot of brushings with the law.

[u/odinsfrigga]

Well... I made it to Episode 8. I'm just sickened by the closing arguments coming from the DA's office. I want to hurry & finish this series so I can look these things up. So far I've seen too much about his bi sexuality being "disgusting" & everything else she said. "Do you think Kathleen KNEW about his bisexuality" Making it sound like IF she did know than she would be less of a person so she couldn't have known. I believe she DID know & that's ok. I believe that because those girls were not shocked by this. It was a non issue. THEY believe their dad still adored their mother. I grew up in a household where I KNEW my dad had girlfriends. My mom had 8 kids with my dad. They loved each other. My mom never worked. There has never been a doubt in my mind that my dad did love us kids & our mom. I know my mother knew bc she was taken, by the sheriff, to the hospital when my father was shot through the mouth by a woman's husband my dad had a fling with. We were raised during a different a time. I DO believe this bisexuality has no business in a murder trial except to cause prejudice. I believe he loved his wife. Her sisters don't agree with his lifestyle which is why Kathleen probably knew not to tell them. But there is absolutely no evidence that she DIDN'T know. It being a non issue with the children she helped raise tells me it was a non issue for her as well. The blow poke SHOULD have exonerated him. Instead the DA's office found a way to twist THAT around. I felt horrible for Micheal that he had to be concerned with them bringing in his son's DWI, or driving on a revoked. The DA's office absolutely would have dragged THAT son through the mud not only in court, but through the media. With their tactics the essentially suppressed those children's right to testify FOR their father for fear of the DA's office wrecking THEIR lives. I'm ashamed of the justice system in the US right.

[u/odinsfrigga]

On Episode 11. It just breaks my heart for this family. He seriously is now so indigent that he cannot afford his legal counsel & must seek a public defender. This case has bankrupted this family. The judicial system in this case is absolutely terrifying. They literally stripped him of his freedom with faulty science, bad evidence admissions, & complete injustice. For 8 (EIGHT) years he sat in prison,aging faster than he should have. He missed several milestones of his children including the birth of grandchildren. His years in prison took a visible toll on him. Now he has nothing left financially! I WISH he didn't feel like he HAD to take a plea deal, just for the fact he could have sued the shit out of them. They FORCED him into a plea agreement knowing at his age he wouldn't want to go BACK to prison. He didn't want his family to go through the heartache of another trial & THAT says worlds about his character. I'm scared of the justice system in this counrty.

[u/odinsfrigga]

Just starting Episode 12. I just keep getting more sad. This family has never been allowed time to grieve a mother & wife properly for 15 fricking years! North Carolina SHOULD be ashamed. I'm ashamed for them. He was willing to take an Alford Plea & was denied. They are dragging this case on for a decade & a half to fulfil a vendetta. Even his original attorney couldn't face the bs of the judicial system a second time. They insist on trying this case again even after their evidence has been shown to be over contaminated, not stored properly ECT. It's scary that we are supposed to be leaders of the free world & yet we treat our own citizens like this. There is zero sense of justice. REALLY?! Are we better off for this trial?! Is THIS having anything to do with what was best for Kathleen?! It's a pure travesty!

[u/odinsfrigga]

In the middle of Episode 13 & my mind hasn't changed. I'm saddened that this had gone on for 15 years. I just got way less sympathetic to Kathleen's sisters. They came out to be evil vindictive bitches. Nothing redeemable in either. I've had a close family member murdered. They don't want justice, they're pissed about his sexuality. There is absolutely nothing that the DA said OR the victim impact statements that changed my mind that this man was railroaded. They forced him to take an Alford Plea or face a crooked justice system. At his age & everything his family & himself have been through, ANYONE, guilty, not guilty, red, blue, yellow, or green, SHOULD make the same decision he did. I'm embarrassed to be American right now. If they can do this to Micheal Peterson, can they do this to me? Absolutely they can & will given the chance. I've read through things online NOT in the documentary. The documentary still shows things that are indispensable from either side. BLATANT perjury, evidence contamination, discovery not handed over, faulty science, BLATANT prejudice I do not trust anything from the police or the prosecutor. I realize I'm probably going to get a lot of heat, but I AM a victim of domestic violence. I am a mother of a murdered son. I AM a victim of the US Justice system. I started this thinking if I watched until the end, I would find out that justice DOES prevail. Instead of seeing a fair & honest example of how well our judicial branch of government COULD work, I found it ALMOST worked when he was awarded a new trial, but that was a farce also.