So what should we do with children who kill?  This has been one of the main topics of debate over the last few weeks in the UK, it concerns the case of two-year-old Jamie Bulger who was taken from a shopping mall, tortured and murdered by two ten-year- old boys in 1993.  Public opinion appears to be very divided in respect of Jamie’s killers, some say that because of their age, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson should never have been tried in an adult court and considering their unstable home life they should have been dealt with by gentler means.  However, they were given life sentences and put into separate secure child units where they were treated well and given all the chances to turn their lives around.  They served 8 years and were released on Life Licence.  They were also given new identities at great expense to the taxpayer to protect them from any reprisals.  Jamie’s family, understandably, did not think that the two boys should have been released after such a short time after what they considered was a cushy period in the secure units. Jamie suffered the most terrible injuries imaginable at the hands of these boys, they systematically tortured him, finally beating him to death and then placed his broken body on a railway line to be cut in two by a train.  In fact the details are too terrible to print here.  Given every opportunity to start a new life, one of the boys, Jon Venables, has broken the conditions of his Parole and has been taken back into custody.  Now 27, it seems that Venables has seriously violated the rules regarding his release, however the British Government has seen fit not to disclose to the public what his offence entails.  Some sources say that it involves his viewing of child pornography on his computer.  Jamie’s mother Denise Fergus is distraught and angry that this information is being kept back to protect Venables when he has so violently killed her little son and destroyed her and her families’ lives.

The Home Office appear to want to protect Venables at any costs, they have now considered that he might not stand trial for this new offence, or offences, but should simply be detained again for a while under the conditions of being called back on Life Licence in respect of the original offence for Jamie’s murder.  Taking him to court would most probably disclose his new identity, therefore on his release, once again he would have to be given yet another new identity at the cost of around £250,000.  Many people feel that Venables should not be given another chance as he has shown that he cannot lead a decent life by re-offending.

This is a very difficult case because it involves children who murder and history has shown that some people who murder when they become adults actually showed traits for such leanings in their childhood by torturing and killing animals when they were young.  Sociopaths feel no empathy or sympathy for human beings or animals.   Does this mean that some people are born evil and can never be re-habilitated?  Another UK child killer, Mary Bell, strangled pigeons before she went on to strangle too little boys at the age of 10.  As far as we know Mary has not re-offended, but once again she was given a new identity, so little is known of her behaviour now.

Every sympathy and understanding should be given to Jamie’s mother who is serving her own life sentence with the grief of what happened to her son.  However, she is constantly put under further stress from liberal elitists who consider that Jamie’s killers are perhaps a better cause for their sympathy.  Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner in the UK, has called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to 12 because of this case, meaning Venables and Thompson would never have stood trial.  She did not help matters when she described Jamie’s murder as ‘exceptionally unpleasant’  and the fact that a little boy “ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget.”    Dr Atkinson even remarked that these two boys should not have been dealt with in an adult court as they would have been ‘frightened’.

Jamie’s mother is outraged at Atkinson’s remarks and says “To describe the murder of James as ‘unpleasant’ is an insult to his memory, and a downright lie.  To say that James ‘ended up dead’ is callous and almost makes it sound like an accident.  I am furious about the way she has described his murder.”  Mrs Fergus has called for Dr Atkinson to apologise for her comments and added that the Dr should be sacked.

The focus is very much for the rehabilitation of criminals in the UK under the present government, rather than punishment, plus there seems little consideration for the victims.  Whilst people do make mistakes and can turn their lives around to become decent members of society after committing a misdemeanour, there has to be some deterrent to stop criminals offending in the first place.   Some form of punishment by taking away privileges should be included in every custodial sentence.  British prisons have been compared to ‘holiday camps’ by some of their inmates because the conditions are so 'soft'.  Everything is geared up to make sure that prisoner’s ‘Human Rights’ are a priority above any rights of the victims.  So is it time make prison a place where people do not want to go back to?  Many re-offend once they are released, so obviously being locked up was not a deterrent in these cases.

However children who kill are a dilemma, are some people actually born beyond help and will harm others no matter how good a chance they are given? or can every violent child be made to adjust, as we are told by the people who would call themselves ‘experts’.  Only time will tell with Venables and Thompson.  If there are more victims involved because Venables was given his freedom, then it may be time to reconsider how much time these types of killers should be locked away for and how closely monitored they are once finally released.

I don’t have the answers, but I know one thing, and that is that my heart goes out to Denise Fergus and her family who will never get over the cruel and terrible way that Jamie met his death.