CRIME

Steven Avery moved out of maximum security to medium-security prison in Fox Lake

Chris Mueller
Appleton Post-Crescent

Steven Avery was moved late last month from a maximum-security prison in Waupun to a medium-security prison about 10 miles away in Fox Lake.

Avery, 59, has been serving a life sentence since being convicted of killing Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer who disappeared in 2005. His story was featured in the Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer," which cast doubt on the motives of police and left many viewers with the impression that Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were wrongfully convicted.

Avery had been at Waupun Correctional Institution but was moved June 21 to Fox Lake Correctional Institution, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Fox Lake Correctional Institution was the first medium-security prison in the U.S. to open under a "responsible living, no pass system concept," the department says.

The people incarcerated at the facility are permitted "scheduled movement within the institution and rules are intended to help individuals live together in an orderly manner," the department says.

Avery asked to be transferred six weeks ago, Kathleen Zellner, Avery's attorney, said on Twitter.

"The next step is getting him home," she said.

Contact Chris Mueller at 920-996-7267 or cmueller@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AtChrisMueller.