C4 now - the James Bulger case **Trigger Warning - Contains Info about the case** (Title edited by MNHQ)

[Hairgician]

Sat watching this now.

I do not accept the view that those 2 boys were treated unfairly. They murdered that poor little boy and they knew what they were doing and that it was wrong.

They should be rotting in jail. Aibu to say justice not served??

[Hairgician]

Bulger not burger. Ffs.

[Littlelambpeep]

Totally agree

[SezziBaybee]

Agreed

[FlashTheSloth]

YANBU. I expect a lot will say different but they knew it was wrong and they set out to do it. Disgraceful and they were let out far too soon.

It's very difficult viewing. There is another one tomorrow with Denise Fergus on it, I think it's on ITV. That poor poor woman.

[TheInimitableMrsFanshawe]

YAB totally unreasonable. 10 year olds may know that killing and hurting is wrong but they lack the impulse control of adults and the ability clearly to foresee the consequences of their actions.

[FarFrom]

They were 10. Very troubled children. It's so depressing to still see adults talking about children in this way.

[NSEA]

What they did was horrific, but saying that a 10 year old should rot in jail is ridiculous.

[Screamer1]

I find it very hard to sit in judgement of two clearly disturbed 10 year olds.

I think the whole "by 10 you know right from wrong" is not actually true.

It's such a distressing case, that it's almost impossible to be impartial. I just feel such awful sadness for James's parents. They've conducted themselves with incredible dignity.

[Hairgician]

They should never have been released. They knew it was wrong. They set out to do it. It wasn't a prank gone wrong.

[TheInimitableMrsFanshawe]

I’m totally appalled by the newspapers headlines from the time. I was only a year older than the boys and I would only have seen the TV news on the BBC, so all of that would have passed me by. Disgusting and I’m interested to see whether this program covers the press and whether they anyone was held in contempt of court.

[LloydColeandtheCoconuts]

I saw this was on but couldn’t bring myself to watch it. I always thought they were let off a bit too lightly. Especially when you found out exactly what brutal things they did to James.

[buckeejit]

I'm conflicted. I can't fathom how a 10 year old can do something so heinous. It's so sad.

I think they possibly didn't get the help they needed before they killed James & then it was too late. Their lives were over. Adults who murder can be rehabilitated and lead a 'normal' life after release. These 2 will never have that.

Interesting to see about the child who was killed in Germany? And the difference in how that was dealt with

[Rebeccaslicker]

I read an article where the journalist described Ann Thompson as saying angrily and repeatedly, "if that child had just been wearing reins..."

Erm. What about if your child had just been in school and not looking for a young child to "get lost"...!

Horribly sad case from every single angle

[Littlelambpeep]

They are evil - ten year old or not, you know right from wrong. Fair enough- not the whole impact but they are bad people

Ten ... You know right from wrong

[PoorYorick]

10 year olds may know that killing and hurting is wrong but they lack the impulse control of adults and the ability clearly to foresee the consequences of their actions.

Do you know what those two demons actually did to that child?

I'm not going to go into details in this post, but if you don't fully recall, look it up. It had nothing to do with impulse control and a ten year old would be more than capable of foreseeing the consequences. Only a braindead person wouldn't be.

Seriously, look it up. I think you probably think you know, but you don't. I don't see how anyone who knows what they actually did to James could possibly start wibbling about impulse control and not understanding. You must have forgotten, or you never knew to start with.

[ghostyslovesheets]

oh fuck I knew threads like this would pop up

they were children - you do not lock children up for life

[QueenofmyPrinces]

I’ve read the case stories of both the boy’s home lives and although what they did to James was monstrous to the point I can barely bring myself to think about it, they were both boys who were raised in horrendous circumstances and they were both very troubled. Of course what they did was wrong but the way the two boys were treated in their homes and the abuse they suffered themselves no doubt played a huge role in what they did. I’m not sure that when it came to morals and social behaviour that they had any idea what was right and what was wrong.

[Rebeccaslicker]

This article considers how the boys were dealt with by the experts - note how the journalist who shadowed the families always thought they had ringleader and follower the wrong way round:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-happened-to-the-boys-who-killed-james-bulger-wtsdjbjj8

[Sidelook]

YANBU, and I find it hard to understand any form of sympathy for those boys. At 10 years old murdering a toddler should never even enter their heads. They absolutely knew what they set out to do and how it was going to end. James was 2.5 years old and they decided to lead him away and sadicly torture and murder him. For that they should have been left to rot in jail!!

[ashleighxoxo]

Watching it now, it's heartbreaking! Actually crying hearing and knowing what they done to that poor innocent little boy. Should still be in jail indefinitely

[PoorYorick]

they were children - you do not lock children up for life

They weren't locked up for life. They were released after a few years and given new identities.

[NapQueen]

Any 10 year old who able to think up what they did, let alone carry out the acts has clearly been massively failed by his own parents and/or exposed to violence and sadistic acts.

My 10yo is a product of mine and dhs parenting with a minimal amount of external influence. I believe that of all young kids.

What they did was an act of evil and something no-one, let alone a small child, should ever endure. That evil manifested from somewhere. And if i were the boys' parents I would be utterly devastated to have raised such wicked children.

[refusetobeasheep]

I don't think the Norway comparison is helpful. 4 years younger and no signs of pre-meditation.

[Screamer1]

Did you see what the man in Norway said about the development of the frontal lobe littlelamb?

[WishingOnABar]

It does feel as though the programme is implying they were treated unfairly by being tried as adults. Their crime was very deliberate and premeditated, as well as brutal. Venables’ recent behaviour confirms for me they were not just naive children