AllMovie

The effectiveness of the prison system comes under fire in the A&E program American Justice: Free to Kill -- The Polly Klaas Murder. Richard Allen Davis had been in and out of jail his whole life. Convictions ranged from kidnapping to burglary. Overall, Davis spent 26 years in prison. His next to last stint ended in 1993, just three months before he killed Polly Klaas. The little girl was having her first slumber party when she was abducted by the career criminal. A handprint and eyewitness testimony secured his capture and Davis himself led police to the body. The subsequent sentence of death put a stop to Davis' reign of terror. But what was responsible for the formation of this murderous persona? A&E looks at the failure of the penal system to rehabilitate and the efforts to prevent another Richard Allen Davis.