An unforgivable crime?

I read this bulletin off myspace and thought it could spark ad interesting discussion.

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Do you remember February 1993 when a young 3 yr. old was taken from a Shopping mall in Liverpool, NY by two 10-year-old boys? Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second and Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the poor little boy who was crying constantly for his mommy. Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes and pushed
batteries up his anus. It was actually worse than this...

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What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie's mother was FORBIDDEN to identify his body. They then left his beaten small body on the tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident. This week Lady Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave custody with new identities. We cannot let this happen. They will also leave early this year only serving just over half of their sentence. One paper even stated that Robert may go on to a University. They are getting away with their crime.

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I remember seeing a Learning Channel (or Court TV or something) special on this case. This bulletin looks accurate from what I can remember.I don't really know where I stand on this, but right now I think I could take the position that these guys should be let out. I dunno, maybe a discussion could help me figure it out.

They have both been out for 5 years. The Boy's name is actually James Bulger, he was never refered to as Jamie by the family, that's a media construction.Some of the other material sounds incorrect from what I can remember of the case but I'd have to check. For example, the batteries stuff is a half-truth, they were placed in his mouth.Edited by CK, : No reason given.

Poor kid. I remember the case and wish I didn't.I wonder where the decision as to their knowing they were doing wrong came from. Their motivation for laying him on the tracks could have been otherwise that wanting to make it look like an accident. We laid stones and pennies on railway tracks when we were kids to see what would happenAs to releasing them after what, 8 (edited (again)on the basis of CK's info) years. I suppose they must be let out sometime and I know that for a kid, there is no point in applying adult grade punishment because they just can't understand it. Removing a kids portable playstation for a day seems like a year to them. Remember when you started your summer holidays at that age? 3 months stretched out to infinity in your mind. 3 months is a mere blink for an adultI hope whatever it was that caused such evil to pour forth from within them has died a death. And I wish them wellEdited by iano, : No reason given.Edited by iano, : No reason given.

They did 8 years each. Now I think about it, I'm pretty sure the identification stuff is a lie as well.

Excuse my sloppy maths.

There's only one kind of criminal in the US with a lower rate of recidivism than sex offenders, and that's murderers. I'm not sure there was a sexual element to this crime but either way, the odds that they will commit this kind of crime again are pretty low.

As CK said, this is old, old news. The media hype was incredible, and the whole episode tragic for all concerned. One small kid lost his life, and two kids lost their entire teen childhood... you can't get more extreme than that. And the thought of being punished at 18 for what you did at 10 is simply bizarre.What's with the "Liverpool, NY"? Last time I checked, the US territorial waters didn't quite extend the whole way across the Atlantic...Edited by cavediver, : No reason given.

Except for the fact that they spent time in a correctional facility, can no longer speak to their friends. They have forfieted their own history and identity as well as their immediate family's. The only argument in favour of a heavier punishment for the boys would be that 'These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident.'. Should we treat all pre-teens as adults, then?Remember - they were given an indefinite sentence, and they are being released on a life-long life licence. If there is any risk (ie they commit another violent crime) they potentially serve the remainder of their lives in custody. I hope this point of view, from the other side than the myspace bulletin, sparks a discussion that will help make up your mind on the matter, either way.More information can be found here

They should put away the parents then.

Can you begin to imagine the punishment they received by simply being their parents? Whether they thought themselves culpable or not, they would still have been put through hell and are probably still there to some extent.And surely there is a degree of "there but for the grace of God..." Not all nature is nurture...

I hate how there's so much bullshit being passed around on the internet.Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me.I can't believe that people are adding their names to this petition to keep them in jail and reposting the bulletin. LOL, and they're already out. I guess people don't think about it and just slap their name on it and reply. I read it and thought, "What!? these guys don't need to be locked up anymore..."Like Crashfrog said, they're probably not gonna do something like this again.I agree with yall that these guys should be out.Thanks again.

I know how I would feel. I would feel like killing myself.But I don't know how the real parents would feel. Maybe they just don't give a crap. How else would they have raised kids that have thought processes like this with such little regard for life?

cavediver writes

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Can you begin to imagine the punishment they received by simply being their parents?

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There are two possible punishments I can think of: social and psychological. The social part could easily go away by simply moving away to somewhere else where you are not so readily recognized. The psychological part could also easily go away as the Nazis had shown us.People are assuming that these boys' parents have a conscience. What if they don't? In this particular case I cannot say either way, but I have known some crappy parents who have no sympathy for anyone but their child. Some of these crappy parents have no conscience.Added by edit.I cannot back any of the following with any real data.There was a time in my life where I thought about a lot why or how people with no conscience the way they are. I spent hours and hours in the library each day reading as much as I could on subjects relating horrendous acts and crimes.What many authors seemed to agree on regarding early behaviors that are tell tale signs, and probably are the causes themselves, for hidden desires to commit hateful, hurtful, or even murderous acts are finding amusement in torturing little animals. First, you start out with insects, then reptiles, then rodents, then your family dog, then other people's pets, etc. For certain people, it is suppose to give you some kind of orgasm-like kick out of hurting other things or people.Some past defendents have tried the not guilty by reason of genetics defense... Sorry, I've been thinking out loud. I'll stop now.Edited by rgb, : No reason given.

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...the odds that they will commit this kind of crime again are pretty low.

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oh, that's allright then!I'm actually in a dispute with one of my neighbours but, you know, after I beat him to a bloody pulp chances are I won't do it again.A smack on the wrist then and I'll be on my way.

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"In life, you have to face that some days you'll be the pigeon and some days you'll be the statue."

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I agree with yall that these guys should be out.

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hell, why not? all they did was repeatedly, intently and unprovokedly tortured a 3-yr old boy until he was dead.I mean how would they know -at the tender age of 10- that throwing paint over one's face actually hurts?how could they know that kicking a toddler, hitting him with bricks, stones and a 22 lb (10 kg) iron bar would actually cause him damage ?I mean we didn't know that when we were 10, did we ?Let'em all out I say!

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"In life, you have to face that some days you'll be the pigeon and some days you'll be the statue."