Alison Dirr

The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent

Petitions have been circulating online demanding that President Obama pardon the two men convicted in the 2005 murder of 25-year-old freelance photographer Teresa Halbach.

The petitions are the result of a 10-part Netflix documentary series called Making a Murderer that was released in mid-December. It focuses on Halbach's homicide and raises questions about the strength of the cases against Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey. Allegations of police misconduct are also a thread tying the 10 parts together.

The petitions on Change.org and on Whitehouse.gov together have more than 300,000 signatures. But they're asking Obama to do something he simply cannot do.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the president can commute only federal criminal sentences — not those handed down in state courts. Both men were charged and convicted on state charges.

The filmmakers said that they wanted the series to raise questions about the justice system. Many online have taken it further, saying they believe Avery and Dassey are innocent of the charges against them.

Avery is serving a life term in the Wisconsin Prison System without the possibility of parole. A judge set Dassey's parole eligibility date as Oct. 31, 2048.

Instead, the DOJ says those petitions should be directed at the governor or other appropriate authorities of the state where the person was convicted.

A petition directed at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Change.org had just under 1,700 supporters as of Tuesday morning. But Walker has previously said he will grant no pardons.