Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both 10
years old at the time, would take two year old James and walk
him down to a nearby canal, where Thompson wanted to throw
the youth in the water, he would later tell police. Thompson
tried to coax James to kneel down and look at the water, but
he refused. This angered the boys, in retaliation, one of
them picked James up and threw him on the ground causing a
large bump on his head.
They then led the crying, kicking two year
old away from the canal and two miles through town to a nearby
railway station where along the way, several adults stopped
the boys to inquire why the baby was crying and how he had
gotten a bump on his head. Each time the boys concocted another
story and went on their merry way dragging the baby behind
them. They reached the railway station as dusk began to fall.
Being hidden from sight from bushes and tree's the boys were
free to do as they choose. They would begin by knocking James
to the ground and pelting him with bricks. This wasn't enough
for the disturbed children so they began beating him with
a 28 lb iron bar. They sexually molested him, poured paint
in his eyes and finally as the life drained from two year
old James, they placed his beaten body on the train tracks
where an oncoming train would rip his little broken body in
two.
In the coming days thousands of people would
flock to the site where James' life was taken and place flowers
in his memory, including Thompson and Venables. The pair would
be arrested on February 18, 1993. A public out cry rang out
world wide when details of the murder were made public. Crowds
gathered in order to pelt the van driving the boys to the
courthouse. During sentencing the judge described what they
had done as "unparalleled evil and barbaric" and
sentenced them to a minimum of eight years (the maximum sentence
allowed under English law).
This sentence would later be increased to
15 years by former home secretary Michael Howard, but on October
26, 2000 another judge, Lord Wolf, the Lord Chief Justice
of England and Wales (in his infinite wisdom) would restore
the original sentence, saying that it wouldn't be beneficial
for the boys to be in the "corrosive atmosphere of an
adult prison." This decision meant that both boys, now
18, could be freed as soon as the parole board gave it's ok.
On January 9th, a judge ordered that upon
their release, the pair would be given new legal identities
in order to protect their lives. Going one step further, the
judge declared that the media will be prohibited from revealing
any information about their new lives. Dame Elizabeth went
yet another step further and declared that Internet Service
Providers could be prosecuted if they allowed any information
to be posted on their pages.
David Blunkett ....."Thompson and Venables
are not free - as I have said they will remain on life license
(parole) for the rest of their lives and are liable to be
recalled to custody at anytime if there is any evidence that
they present a risk to the public."
Lord Wolf, Chief Justice of England and Wales
.... "Having become reasonable young men, they will have
to live with, and will be marked by, what they did when children
of 10 .. They will be ... liable to be recalled to custody
for the rest of their lives if they do not comply with the
terms of their license .. It is hoped that this does not prevent
them leading full and useful lives. So far as this is possible
it is in the interest of the public that they should now do
so."
