Who said these bastards were rehabilitated (Bulger murder)

[Neil]

This case haunts me. I don't know why. My son is ten, and I can't get my head around how a pair of ten years olds can murder, so horribly... Anyway, when two year old James Bulger was murdered by ten year old Robert Thompson and Jon Venables back in 1993, I didn't realise quite how nearly he was saved, just for bad luck:- 1) ...an elderly woman noticed the baby, who was obviously hurt. She approached them and asked what the problem was. James was in tears, his face bruised and red. "We just found him at the bottom of the hill," Jon and Robert claimed as if they didn't know him. She told the boys to take him to the Walton Lane Police Station just down the road and gave them directions there. The little boy's injuries worried her. She pointed them in the direction of the police, but watched incredulously as they walked off in the opposite direction. She shouted after them, but they didn't turn back. As she stood there, unsure what to do, another woman who had seen the boys earlier said that James had been laughing. She believed the baby was okay; they were probably inexperienced brothers watching over their younger sibling. The old lady so nearly stepped in! 2) They stopped inside some of the shops. A woman walking a dog eyed the boys with the toddler and asked what was going on. They told her that they found the lost boy at the Strand and were on their way to the police station. Another concerned woman, who had a little girl with her, overheard the conversation and joined in. "Well," she said, "you've walked a long way from the Strand to Walton Lane Police Station." Jon said, "That's where the man directed us." When she asked where they lived, Robert was about to answer, but Jon cut him off. "The police station is on our way home." Robert let go of James' hand, as if willing to relinquish him. The women watched Robert as he looked away. He seemed nervous. But then Jon took control. "Get hold of his hand," he said. Robert once again took James by the hand. The younger woman with the child looked down at James, who was hurt, and appeared upset. "Are you all right, son?" she asked. James didn't answer. Jon insisted they would find the station; they would take care of it. But the woman felt something wasn't right. It was getting dark and the boys weren't honest. She asked that the other woman with the dog to watch her little girl, who was tired, while she escorted James to the station. But the woman with the dog refused — her pet did not like children. If the dog owner had just got involved! http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/n.../bulger/3.html

[Mike70]

But the woman with the dog refused[/B] — her pet did not like children. If the dog owner had just got involved! that's about par for the course with dog owners. "god forbid that my dog is put out because a child is in trouble" I hope whoever that dog owner was has read this story and their actions haunt them in nightmares for the rest of their life.

[Morto Vivente]

This case haunts me. I don't know why. My son is ten, and I can't get my head around how a pair of ten years olds can murder, so horribly.. Anyway, when two year old James Bulger was murdered by ten year old Robert Thompson and Jon Venables back in 1993, I didn't realise quite how nearly he was saved, just for bad luck:- What with the other recent case in Liverpool concerning the 2 teenagers brutally beating a homeless man to death, I was thinking about the James Bulger case a lot recently. - - - Updated - - - She asked that the other woman with the dog to watch her little girl, who was tired, while she escorted James to the station. But the woman with the dog refused[/B] — her pet did not like children. [i]If the dog owner had just got involved! The dog not liking children sounds like a lame excuse to me. I think the woman in question just couldn't be arsed. It probably does plague her conscience, and if it doesn't she should seek out a psychologist immediately.

[Cykotic]

I think we should be told of their identities and whatever happens, happens. They brought it upon themselves when they took his life. Denise Bulger has always fought for their protection to be lifted, and I agree with her. They will or have got out of jail. She will always have to face the consequences of their actions. She is in effect, serving a life sentence. I have a twelve year old nephew, an 11 year old niece, a 4 year old niece and a 2 year old nephew. If anything happened to them, Not a force on this earth would stop me from taking out their attackers.

[Neil]

Jon Venables is about to be released (again) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23190447 One of James Bulger's killers, Jon Venables, should be released from prison, the parole board has said. Venables was previously paroled, but sent back to jail for accessing child pornography.

[Cykotic]

FFS.... the wrong people in society are being protected No doubt, he will get a new identity..... at our expense of course

[Neil]

And the poor mother is still suffering - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36794888 A woman who admitted sending disturbing Twitter messages to the mother of murdered toddler, James Bulger, has been jailed for three years. Chloe Cowan, 20, from Margate in Kent, pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress at an earlier hearing at Canterbury Crown Court. She had posed as one of the toddler's killers and as his ghost in the tweets.

[Neil]

[bassman]

Wow.....this is the first I’ve heard of this case. Very disturbing. My daughter is currently ten years old and I too just can’t fathom something like this happening. I’m hesitant to say it just because of the serious nature of this thread, but the kid in that trailer looks to be a good actor for his age...

[MinionZombie]

Wow.....this is the first I’ve heard of this case. Very disturbing. My daughter is currently ten years old and I too just can’t fathom something like this happening. I’m hesitant to say it just because of the serious nature of this thread, but the kid in that trailer looks to be a good actor for his age... Yeah, this was huge news in 1993 here in the UK, and the case continues to reverberate to this day. It's one of those cases that everyone has at least heard of, or knows the connotations of it, and of course it always gets refreshed interest everytime there's a new documentary. There were two competing docs last year as it was the 25th anniversary, one of which was quite controversial in its apparent take on the killers themselves. Then, of course, there's the recurring issue of Venables and possession of child pornography (both killers are under new identities, with one or both having had to get new identities at one time or another as the info has been leaked). IIRC Venables is back in prison for a second time for that offense. The whole thing was beyond shocking at the time. I didn't know too much of it when it was happening as I was only about 8 or 9 at the time and the Nine O'Clock News was of no interest to me, but it's something you then discover at some point (news stories, documentaries, etc). Apparently the things those two did to James Bulger were even more horrific than what was publicly confirmed (hard to imagine considering how awful the stuff that was reported on actually was!) As for this docu-drama ... oof ... this is very sensitive territory to be stepping into, especially in the UK, and you wonder about the perspective of it all. Yes, you hear these boys - now caught - blubbering like any child fearing an adult's discipline ... but the things these boys did are beyond shocking, beyond sickening, beyond comprehension. The anger that was brought out by the whole case was in itself quite stunning. When you see video of the vans bringing the boys to court and you see these hordes of people furiously screaming and trying to get at the vans (the fervor stirred up by the tabloids, although it was the top news story anywhere you'd care to look) ... it's all quite indescribable, really. There are certain crimes that haunt a nation's psyche - and this is one of those cases, if not the case, for the UK. ... More about the film - from the Director: I wouldn’t expect [the family] to be comfortable with a film which humanises the boys but I do hope they understand the reason it was made, and it certainly wasn’t to bring any more grief to them. The reason the film was made was to try and offer more of an understanding as to how these two 10-year-old boys could have committed such a horrific crime because I think if we don’t understand the cause of it, it’s likely that something similar will happen again in the future. The Bulger family weren't consulted regarding the film. On one hand you can understand not wanting to dredge it up again - but it is also something they live with every single day - but on another hand you're depicting the victim in the film, so it's a lose-lose position to put yourself in as a filmmaker. Nominated for an Oscar in the Short Film category. More than 90,000 people signed a petition asking the Academy to disqualify the short film, but yesterday (January 22) it was revealed Detainment had made the short list for Best Short Film (Live Action). Denise took to Twitter to share her outrage at the nomination, where she wrote: I cannot express how disgusted and upset I am at this so called film that has been made and now nominated for an Oscar. It’s one thing making a film like this without contacting or getting permission from James family but another to have a child re-enact the final hours of James’s life before he was brutally murdered and making myself and my family have to relive this all over again! And the opinion of James' father: Hollywood should hang its head in shame. There are some things that should be off limits and the murder of a baby is one of them. To *Hollywood it is just another film. But to me and my family it is a living *nightmare. Those behind the Oscar nominations knew how we felt about this film and the director. We’ve been very public about how *devastating it is to see such a sympathetic portrayal of James’s killers. The boys who killed James are now grown men, one is inside again for child abuse offences. But will they remember that on Oscar night in their fancy dresses and tuxedos?

[Neil]

It's really tricky territory isn't it. When is long enough? What is a fair view/representation or not?

[MinionZombie]

It's really tricky territory isn't it. When is long enough? What is a fair view/representation or not? You also have to wonder what the goal really is and is it achievable? The Director says he wants to find an explanation, but how are you going to achieve that within the brief timeframe of a short film, but also from the interview tapes in the immediate aftermath? Even after all this time and examination there's no clear explanation beyond 'two despicable scumbag kids did some incomprehensibly vicious and twisted'. Tumbling down the rabbit hole, as you jump from article to article, it sounds as if Venables in particular just wasn't right. Other offenders who were at the same institution as him have spoken about how Venables got special treatment and often boasted about what he had done. Considering his continued crimes and spells in and out of prison, there's clearly something not right in that scumbag's head.

[Neil]

You also have to wonder what the goal really is and is it achievable? The Director says he wants to find an explanation, but how are you going to achieve that within the brief timeframe of a short film, but also from the interview tapes in the immediate aftermath? Even after all this time and examination there's no clear explanation beyond 'two despicable scumbag kids did some incomprehensibly vicious and twisted'. Tumbling down the rabbit hole, as you jump from article to article, it sounds as if Venables in particular just wasn't right. Other offenders who were at the same institution as him have spoken about how Venables got special treatment and often boasted about what he had done. Considering his continued crimes and spells in and out of prison, there's clearly something not right in that scumbag's head. Yeh, I think there's no mention of the two's post Bulger "activities"... Which surely is important to give a rounded view of the two characters. ie: This is what they did and were like as kids, and they went on to do...?

[MinionZombie]

Yeh, I think there's no mention of the two's post Bulger "activities"... Which surely is important to give a rounded view of the two characters. ie: This is what they did and were like as kids, and they went on to do...? And the old excuse by very curious people saying things 'at 10 years old you can't know right from wrong and the consequences of your actions' ... ... really??? At 10 you know the difference between right and wrong, you know if you get hit that it hurts, that if you get cut you bleed, that kidnapping a toddler from a shopping centre (something they'd attempted at least once before IIRC), committing a litany of disgusting and perverted violent actions, and leaving the body on train tracks to be run over by a train is most certainly bloody wrong! They weren't stealing sweets from a corner shop, they didn't break someone's window with their football - they committed one of the most horrendous and shocking crimes in British history.

[EvilNed]

Remind me to read through this thread some day. Seems interesting.