Examine How Legal System Fail to Protect Us

Nov 04,2009 12:16 AM

I’ve been getting caught up in the tragedy of the death of father and son by a premeditated murderer who could have been executed before the 11-month old was drowned.  I’m just wondering how many loopholes are out there in the legal system and social welfare programs that fail to fend for us.

In the heart-wrenching documentary” Dear Zachary”, documented by a young, independent filmmaker, in the hope of eliciting memory box of his best friend for the young, fussy Zachary whose life was about to start.  Andrew Bagaby was a young, playful, considered, and intelligent physician whose family practice career was about to thrive, with two sensible and affectionate parents whose life crumpled into piece in the wake of the murder.  Following a devastating break-up that put an end to the engagement with his college sweetheart, Andrew hit it off with one of his medical school colleagues, Shirley Turner. Both were on the same wavelength of starting a non-committed, intimate relationship without addressing much of spiritual bond, it was more of a handholding relationship. Gradually, Turner exhibited confrontational personality trait, apathy towards the loss of thousands of lives upon the September 11, harassing tendency, as well as emotional instability. She had sought mental counseling for adjustment disorder for two years with a psychiatrist in Canada, who turned out to be a confederate of bailing Turner out of the custody with a surety of $ 65,000, totally out of professional ethics.  Exacerbated by the final break-up with Bagaby, Shirley drove 13 hours on a visit to Andrew Bagaby, arranged the fatal meeting with him at a park, and brutally shot him multiple times at the rectal area and in his head. Suspicion of Shirley Turner being the prime murderer came into light, as the police department obtained solid evidence from the call records, shell casing, tire casting, and the testimony of the witness seeing Turner’s car parked next to Bagaby’s.

Turner’s lawyer concocted a plan to flee back to Canada, throwing prosecution in the hot water. Andrew’s parents, Kate and David Bagaby, who had battled through the case moved to Canada to confront Shirley Turner. Later on, it was discovered that extradition from Canada back to the U.S would be really challenging, or even unfeasible. To make matters worse, Turner’s psychiatrist bailed Turner out with $ 65,000, releasing the probable killer to walk the street. What is even more disturbing was the judge in the Supreme Court of Canada ruled to give Shirley Turner, premeditated murderer of her boyfriend, the custody of the son of Andrew Bagaby, without deliberating the potential hazards and the welfare of the child.  The intimate proximity of the Bagabys with the child, Zachary spited Shirley Turner, in the way that the bond between the grandparents and her child threatened her maternal connection with Zachary. One night, she drove off the coast, drowned the 11-month-old son, and committed suicide to relieve her emotional baggage and adversity.

I intrinsically respect the Bagabys for advocating for the bail out reform, funding Andrew Bagaby Scholarship to exhibit the tribute of Andrew Bagaby to the society, and living their lives with strength and hope, despite the devastating, subsequent tragedies. Not everyone can stomach the loss of two beloved one in the family, especially the last lines of the family within 2 years. Not everyone can confront the killer of the only son with sanity, benevolence and ration throughout the course of the legal battle.

The gaps within the legal system as well as social welfare hierarchy can really fail the trust we have put to the government in protecting us. Zachary could have been alive, if Shirley Turner received the retribution as she deserved, if justice still existed. If the legal system isn’t doing their job of wiping out the life-threatening murderers on bail  from the general population, every day we run the risk of getting ourselves into a  fatal encounter. Social welfare programs are designated to fend for the vulnerable victims, and not the killers. When we voice concerns over the rights and privileges of the murderers by proclaiming that people deserve the second chance, we should ask” who’s gonna fend for the vulnerable ? ” How about the suspended animation of those who were murdered, because of these threatening individuals got their way of the jail.

Interested in watching the heart-rending documentary yourself? Go to Watch Movies at

http://www.watch-movies-online.tv/movies/dear_zachary_a_letter_to_a_son_about_his_father/

Posted by public on November 4, 2009. Filed under Crime - Punishment,Human Interest,US Criminal Justice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.