Briefly exposes the dishonesty of the American criminal justice system. Prosecutors are ONLY interested in maintaining high conviction rates, to advance their careers. They don't care one bit about either the truth or justice. The prosecutors, and the judges who enable them, are corrupt to the core.

This story could have been told a lot of different ways than the path it took. The film might have been a more critical and financial success if they had. But I suspect that Denzel Washington liked the extreme personality of the character he played. It was a stark contrast to how most lawyers are portrayed.

The epilogue of the film is a pipe dream, that will never be fulfilled, unless there is a national leader who takes up that cause. Nobody has the guts to do it.