torbi-2 I'm not sure what the theory behind this doc was supposed to be (as in, why was this made other than a rehashing of the facts)... I'm so jaded after watching so many documentaries that I believed that it was going to be a turn of events and the husband was going to have something to do with it, but no... It's just a straight retelling of a horrible horrible crime—nothing but the facts, ma'am. Was it to show that the Cheshire police were so inept that they should be held accountable? Was it to advocate for right-to-die laws? Who knows. Neither was presented with enough impact to make the viewer feel like that was their intention. The narrative was all over the place and all I got from this doc was a feeling of hopelessness.

interactbiz The movie presents chilling portraits of evil. Two career criminals commit capital crimes against innocent victims who are described with respect and sympathy. After setting fire to the crime scene, the murderers flee but waiting police capture them almost immediately. Viewers learn the murderers' backgrounds but are left to weigh factors that might have contributed to wilful depravity.The documentary suggests that police could have done more to avoid the deadly outcome. For almost 30 minutes, police observed the victims' home but took no actions. They chose not to enter the house, despite knowing the woman and her two children were captive. A victims' relative thought police intended to keep an intact perimeter to ensure capture of the criminals. Rescuing victims seemed secondary.Whether police actions were excusable or not is uncertain but it is certain that officials refused to be accountable for their decisions. Transcripts of conversations involving police were almost entirely redacted and, according to the filmmakers, officials would not respond to family letters nor make comments that were anything more than tasteless self-congratulations.Ultimately, the program turns to capital punishment. Suffering family members take positions in the film in favour while other voices counter the arguments. This not a definitive examination of the death penalty but filmmakers note that a possibility of death sentences, while failing to deter the killers, was a complicating factor at trial. But for it, the case would have been resolved in weeks instead of years.The film is a balanced examination of the crime, the criminals, the victims and the justice institutions. I was intrigued also by the subtle review of religion. It offered comfort to victims but was shown as a contributor to the personal disintegration of a youthful killer whose adoptive parents had refused him recommended therapy, opting instead for bible camp, hoping prayer would be corrective.A solid and moving effort.

qed77 I thought that the documentary was very clever in exposing the incompetence of the police without actually stating it. The cover-up of that incompetence was also exposed as endless blacked out pages could be seen.Let's see now ...While the police waited outside: 1. The daughters were sexually assaulted 2. The daughters were burned alive 3. The wife was strangled 4. The wife's corpse was "raped" 5. The house was torched It should be noted that if the badly injured husband had been unable to get himself out of the house, he likely would have burned alive too.After the event, we are told that the well-trained police did a wonderful job. Without their efforts, things could have been worse. How exactly? I noted that large portions of the police report were blacked out. I guess that they were covering their @$$e$.It seems that people were so distracted by the brutality of the crime that they had no mental energy left to question the conduct of the police at the scene.One or more of them should be fired.

sprattliz After I finished watching this film, I kept asking myself 'what was its purpose?' It didn't give us any new insight into this horrendous crime, it just made us remember what many are trying to forget.It scared me all over again and I found myself checking the locks and closing the windows. I agree that it was just lazy film making and not up to the documentaries that HBO has sponsored in the past. No one of any real importance allowed themselves to be interviewed except the creepy defense attorney's who, let's face it, LOVE any PRESS! It was like an NYU Film grad went to the library and edited all the news clips and still shots they could find. If you're going to take on such a sensitive subject of life and death, do it so we learn something from it...