“Ferak chronicles the long and sordid history of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department and the reason Sweaty’s license was suspended. Framing Avery was just par for the course."
—Kathleen Zellner
Updated 5th Anniversary Edition Including Exclusive Interview with Steve Avery
In 2016-17, while working for the USA TODAY NETWORK's Wisconsin Investigative Team, author John Ferak wrote dozens of articles examining the murder case against Steven Avery, who had already beaten one wrongful conviction only to be charged again with the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005. This case captured global attention through the Netflix documentary "Making A Murderer."
In this anniversary edition of WRECKING CREW: Demolishing the Case Against Steven Avery, Ferak not only lays out in meticulous detail the post-conviction strategy of Kathleen Zellner, the high-profile, high-octane lawyer fighting to free Avery but also includes a new "Five Years Later" section. This update provides fresh insights and developments in Avery's ongoing legal battle.
Additionally, this special edition features an exclusive epilogue: a November 2023 interview with Steven Avery. For this book, Zellner, arguably America's most successful wrongful conviction attorney, granted Ferak unprecedented access to the exhaustive pro bono efforts she and her small suburban Chicago law firm have invested in a man she believes to be wrongfully ensnared by Manitowoc County's unscrupulous justice system. This anniversary edition offers new revelations and a comprehensive look at a case that continues to stir public debate and demand justice.
Accolades for WRECKING CREW
John Ferak is an investigative journalist who is trying to figure out who committed the murder. He takes all of my evidence, expert opinions and theories and really examines them in detail. [Making a Murderer] touched on some of my investigation and expert experiments but not in as much detail as the book. The series explores many collateral matters, while the book zeroes-in on suspects and motives for the murder, which was not a focal point in the series.” —Attorney Kathleen Zellner, interview with Newsweek Magazine
Whatever you thought you believed about this infamous case, get ready to change your mind or be more convinced than ever. … Fascinating." —New York Times bestselling author Steve Jackson
If you're planning to binge-watch Making a Murderer 2 over the holidays, order John Ferak's new book Wrecking Crew, too. Definitive chronicle of criminal justice corruption in Manitowoc County." —Michelle Malkin, host of Michelle Malkin Investigates on CRTV.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author John Ferak
JOHN FERAK, a native of Joliet, Illinois, returned to his roots in 2017 to become the editor/reporter for the Joliet Patch. He previously spent five years with the Wisconsin Investigative Team for USA TODAY NETWORK and nine years in Nebraska at the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. He is the author of several true crime books, including TERROR TOWN, USA, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, and DIXIE'S LAST STAND. He is an authority on wrongful arrest and conviction cases.
I’m definitely gonna buy this book!! Can’t wait to read
I purchased the e-book the day it was released. Because of a busy fall class schedule and finals, I didn’t get a chance to read it. Until the last two days! I couldn’t stop reading. I can’t even say what I found most shocking, even though I’ve watched both MaM and MaM2 twice, suffice it to say, I can’t believe someone in the state of Wisconsin LE/judicial system<< joke, hasn't cracked under the pressure of Kathleen Zellner and her "wrecking crew"! This account is so detailed and credible and if you were a "guilter" before, you won't be when your done with John Ferak's "Wrecking Crew"
@zellnerlaw #workwithzellner
If you are obsessed as I am, along with thousands of viewers, with Netflix series MAKING A MURDERER, you absolutely WILL NOT want to miss out on this book. There are sooo many details, thanks to this author’s research & coorboration with Kathleen Zellner.. Truthfully I did not want the book to end. There are mountains of details that WRECK the prosecution’s so-called evidence that I don’t see how any law enforcement agent involved is not behind bars.. BUY THIS BOOK; you won’t be disappointed!!
The author is a gifted orator. Charismatic and persuasive. However, Steven Avery is where he belongs for another murder.
“In November 2005, with his civil suit still pending, he was arrested for the murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach, and in 2007 was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. The conviction was upheld by higher courts.”
My reference to “the author” is to Ms. Zellner.. My error. The author is plainly an exceptional writer.