While Steven Avery awaits decision on request for new hearing, he files letters questioning delay

Steven Avery is asking for a speedier decision on his most recent motion for post-conviction relief, according to a letter to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals filed Aug. 8.

It's the second letter Avery has submitted in the last few months without support from his attorneys. The first, nearly identical in wording, was submitted in May, and Avery issued a letter days later apologizing and requesting it be withdrawn from the record.

Avery is in prison for the murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach, 25, of Green Bay, in 2005.

Both letters call Avery a "twice wrongfully incarcerated Wisconsin man who has had his life stolen from him" and cites Wisconsin judicial administration rules that say a circuit court judge should make a decision on a matter within 90 days of its filings, or else notify in writing that they will take an additional 90 days. He questions if Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge Angela Sutkiewicz, who is presiding over his case, is following proper procedures.

“We as attorneys understand that many courts are coping with severe backlogs because of the aftershocks of the pandemic," Avery's attorney Kathleen Zellner told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin in a statement. "While we did not encourage or support Mr. Avery’s letter to the judge we do understand his feelings of frustration. Fortunately we live in a country where First Amendment rights exist. Mr. Avery has exercised his rights as an American citizen.”

Avery, 61, has become the subject of international attention after Netflix's docuseries "Making a Murderer" premiered in 2015.

Avery served 18 years in prison for a sexual assault before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2003. Just two years later, he and his teenage nephew Brendan Dassey were charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old Green Bay photographer. Both Avery and Dassey were found guilty after jury trials and sentenced to life in prison.

Avery was sentenced with no possibility of parole, while Dassey will be eligible for parole in 2048.

Avery has maintained his innocence since his arrest, and initially argued he was framed by law enforcement due to a $36 million lawsuit he filed against Manitowoc County and former county officials for his wrongful sexual assault conviction. After he was charged with Halbach's murder, the lawsuit was settled for $400,000.

Avery has made various efforts over the years to fight his conviction. His most recent motion for post-conviction relief, filed in August 2022, states that newly found evidence supports the argument that another person killed Halbach and framed Avery for it, and requests a judge grant an evidentiary hearing. Among the new evidence is a witness who says they saw the other person who Avery claims is the real killer in possession of a vehicle matching the description of Halbach's SUV days after her disappearance.

The Press-Gazette is not naming the individual Avery's defense claims is Halbach's actual killer, because they have not been charged with anything related to the case.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a 38-page reply in November, in which he argued the defense lacks adequate evidence and legal backing to support its arguments and the judge should not grant Avery's request for an evidentiary hearing.

"He has supplied nothing other than a series of constantly shifting affidavits about his and others’ activities during the relevant time frame and then backfilled it with speculation — with zero factual support — about how a small fraction of the evidence against him ... could have ended up where it was if someone else was the perpetrator and pretends the rest of the evidence does not exist," the prosecution's reply reads.

Zellner and Avery's other attorney, Steven Richards, then filed a response to prosecution's reply in January. In it, they respond to the claims with lengthy descriptions of how the "powerful new evidence" warrants either an evidentiary hearing, a new trial or other sort of post-conviction relief.

"Even if a court is disinclined to believe evidence offered by a movant, the court must hold a hearing before making credibility determinations," the defense reply reads.

In May, defense attorneys filed another document amending Avery's motion with information that another witness came forward and also said they saw the person Avery argues actually killed Halbach driving a vehicle that matched the description of Halbach's within days of her disappearance.

Zellner tweeted in June that she has no updates to share about the case until Sutkiewicz rules on the defense's motion for post-conviction relief.

RELATED: Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey remain imprisoned. Here's where their court proceedings stand.

RELATED: Steven Avery lost his latest attempt at an appeal. Here’s what could happen next.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli. 

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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Steven Avery questions delay on request for new hearing