Keegan Kyle

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MADISON - Here’s an unsolicited tip to those eagerly waiting for the state to release prison emails referencing Netflix’s popular “Making a Murderer” series: Don’t hold your breath.

It’s been eight weeks since USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin requested the emails and nearly four weeks since we paid $220 for copies. We still don't know precisely when the records will be released. Prison officials have declined to provide a date.

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The delays are due in part to the scale of emails we want released. We asked prison officials to produce emails from more than a dozen accounts using a few keywords, which they estimated could total up to 4,000 pages.

The keywords were intended to help pinpoint emails referencing “Making a Murderer” and the two convicted killers portrayed in the series who are now serving time in maximum security state prisons.

However, government agencies also play a role in determining how long it takes for records to be released. They weigh how many resources should be assigned to producing records versus other obligations, and how much legal review is needed.

State law in Wisconsin doesn’t require agencies such as the Department of Corrections to produce records in a precise time frame. Rather, agencies must follow this language: “as soon as practicable and without delay.”

In a positive sign this week, prison officials offered an idea to shrink the amount of email being compiled in such a way to exclude messages that aren’t germane to our quest — cutting both their workload and delays to release.

For example, prison officials said that searching emails for the keyword “Avery” had churned up messages from an office supplies company with “Avery” in its brand name. These messages were solely related to orders for supplies and had no connection to Steven Avery, the convicted killer.

We agreed with prison officials to narrow their email search, excluding orders for Avery office supplies and other messages unrelated to the Netflix series or the two inmates. We hope this both reduces delays and makes it easier to find any significant details in the end.

The emails are part of a broader quest by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin to shed light on the 2007 Manitowoc County murder trial portrayed in Netflix’s series and the challenges that journalists face in obtaining government records. We welcome suggestions for more effective ways the Department of Corrections can produce the results, especially if you have expertise in state email systems or Department of Corrections records.

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Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com or on Twitter @keegankyle. What should he write about next?