The Feelings about What Happened in the Film Dear Zachary - Assignment Example

I believe it was a gross miscarriage of justice that led to the loss of the life of an innocent child and all this could have been prevented had it not been for the legal technicalities that allow attorneys to poke holes in cases, allowing dangerous people back into society. The fact that a killer was allowed back into society and further won a custody case shows that somehow the law isn't enough and there is a need for change. There is the need to change the criminal code and the concept of ‘innocence’ revised to ensure that one is only released after it has been properly ascertained that they are fit to get back into society and not because they can afford a pricey lawyer who can twist the law to fit their agenda.

  First, it is important to acknowledge the fact that what happened to Andrew and his son Zachary was preventable. The first step was Andrew's acknowledgment of the fact that his girlfriend's erratic behavior was a threat to his life hence the need for him to ensure he stays away from her as much as possible and was supposed to go ahead and file a restraining order. Second, when Turner was released from prison and the subsequent custody case, there was the need to perform a thorough mental evaluation on her, to ensure she was of sound mind and good enough to be a mother.

However, the fact that she was a convicted killer who was walking free due to legal technicalities meant she was in no way capable of being a good mother, and she needed time to be rehabilitated before being allowed close to her child.  From the film, it is clear that the law is not perfect after all and that law enforcement plays a significant role in keeping the world safe. These events are among the many events that prove that law enforcement cannot properly function without the cooperation of the criminal justice system.

These two units complement each other since law enforcement ensures the criminals are captured and it is the job of the criminal justice system to ensure that they stay locked until rehabilitated. Failure of one unit to properly execute its duties basically waters down the efforts of the other. The film sends the message on how negligence and disregard of ‘small’ issues can potentially cause a lot of harm. There are still several criminal codes that ought to be changed to prevent future tragedies such as this, and Dear Zachary set the perfect stage for reforms since the film is based on true events.