HarperCollins Nabs Book by 'Making a Murderer' Lawyer

Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, has acquired North American rights to a non-fiction book from Jerome Buting, one of Steven Avery’s defense lawyers featured in the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, for publication in 2017.

Making a Murderer followed Avery, a man wrongfully accused of rape in rural Wisconsin who spent 18 years in prison before being exonerated in 2003. The series goes on to tell of Avery's widely disputed second conviction of murder for the death of a photographer.

According to a press release, the yet-to-be-titled book will draw on Buting's 35-year-career as a criminal defense attorney to explain "the dysfunction that has come to define America’s law enforcement and judicial systems, and Buting said there is more to say about Avery's trial.

“I am excited to write my personal account of defending Steven Avery in a climate of extreme prejudice, investigative tunnel vision and evidence of misconduct,” he said.

Harper acquired rights to the book from Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc.