Thursday 4 March 2010

"It's an absolute nightmare."

...says the solicitor who represented Jon Venables in 1993.

No, no! Not for the parents of James Bulger, or the public! For the criminal and the probation service, of course!

Who did you think would be the real victims here?
Mr Lee said yesterday that he feared the decision to recall Venables last week after a breach of his licence conditions risks destroying the work that has been done to reintegrate the child killer into society.
How terribly awful of the authorities! No blame, of course, should attach to Venables himself, for breaching the terms of his license, should it, Mr Lee?
"By sending him back to prison they have a tinder box on their hands," he said. "He has been living in the community with a new identity for nine years and by recalling him they have risked everything that has been achieved. Now every prisoner and prison officer will be trying to work out which of the recalls in the last week is Venables. It's an absolute nightmare."
Indeed it is.

Though not for the reasons you outline, nor for those you consider to be the most-affected parties either...

14 comments:

Ross said...

From what I gather, Venables & Thompson are at less risk of being punished for ordinary crimes than someone who hasn't committed a killing, because of the expense of providing them with new identities.

Oldrightie said...

Does this solicitor pillock know that which we are denied?

Fat Hen said...

I have not seen a better advert for the death penalty in years.

It's not about 'revenge', just about bringing a timely (and merciful) end to a never-ending disaster and unlimited expense.

Redemption and forgiveness for anyone for anything is one of the most poisonous concept ever introduced into our society.

RantinRab said...

I expect nothing less from twats like that.

Wood, trees etc.

Angry Exile said...

Fat Hen, I'd agree but for one thing. Trusting the state with the power of life and death and hoping it'll never be abused the way some laws, RIPA for example, have is too big a leap for me. Christ, they've slung someone in jail for allowing people to smoke in a pub - who would they put up against a wall if the bastards were really pissed off? Put another way, do you want twats like Brown, Cameron and Clegg having the power of life and death over everyone else?

Angry Exile said...

Should add that I'm not the slightest bit sorry to hear that the bastard's back inside.

English Viking said...

@ Angry Exile.

Good point. Tell you what, let me do it. You can trust me.

blueknight said...

Jon Venables!
Well that's all we do know. It has been hinted that what he has done is pretty serious or they would not have recalled him. Especially as it was only a matter of time before the press got hold of it.
It may not be in the public interest to know his new name, but is he still a danger to young kids or anyone else for that matter?
Did he live in my town and was I or my family at risk, is probably what most of us will be asking.

Fat Hen said...

"Put another way, do you want twats like Brown, Cameron and Clegg having the power of life and death over everyone else?"

Good point, but if we were serious about our society, then none of the above would be anywhere near power, and Brown would be tried for treason (and hanged).

But nowadays, our general reaction to a difficult problem that cannot be solved optimally is to let it fester into something far worse, but as long as we don't have responsibility for it, that's OK with most, and we're happy to entertain the worst option instead.

The other thing to consider is that jailing someone forever is actually far worse all-round than executing them, for them and for us.

Either way, right now, TPTB already have the option of putting you into jail forever, so, you're going from worse to slightly less bad with the death penalty.

Btw, no amount of laws and statues will save us if we get a maniac into power, they just rewrite the rules and that us stuffed. The only thing that saves us is to stop allowing eggheads like Cameron, Clegg and Brown anywhere near positions where they can wreak havoc.

But no-one cares and so... it happens because we let it.

English Viking said...

Fat Hen for PM.

The first load of sense I've seen for a good while.

banned said...

I was absolutly in favour of giving these two a second chance as adults though I am unconvinced about the efficacy of "rehab".
Having failed, despite his hightened awareness of the consequences, Venables should remain back inside until he is a very old man.
Lets hope the other one can read newspapers.

JuliaM said...

"From what I gather, Venables & Thompson are at less risk of being punished for ordinary crimes than someone who hasn't committed a killing, because of the expense of providing them with new identities."

That does seem to be the size of it, yes.

"Does this solicitor pillock know that which we are denied?"

I assume not, unless he's still representing him.

"I have not seen a better advert for the death penalty in years."

We are never going to get the death penalty back. Not while we remain in Europe.

"Good point. Tell you what, let me do it. You can trust me."

I'd think the queue would be round the block!

JuliaM said...

"It has been hinted that what he has done is pretty serious..."

Probably not if some of the reports are true. At least, it wouldn't be considered 'serious' for anyone else...

"...nowadays, our general reaction to a difficult problem that cannot be solved optimally is to let it fester into something far worse, but as long as we don't have responsibility for it, that's OK with most..."

Indeed. They really do get the government they deserve...

"Lets hope the other one can read newspapers."

It's interesting that everyone expected that if either of them broke their licence, it would be him.

Maybe Venables was just smarter at hiding what he was?

Fat Hen said...

JuliaM, a small correction, Europe does have the death penalty already -- see here: http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2008/04/lisbon-treaty-introduces-eu-wide-death.html