To hope William Cornick spends at least the next 50 years in prison if not the rest of his life.

[smokepole]

William Cornick should never be released from prison, for his horrific and brutal attack on Ann Maguire. The judge has sentenced him to a minimum sentence of 20 years, no doubt based on his age. However, despite his teenage years and the stupidity and thoughtlessness that comes from these years his crime was so appalling he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

The only country that sentences children to full life terms is the USA, that is called a injustice by most of the world , because it does not allow for rehabilitation of children. William Cornick can not be rehabilitated for this crime and despite what the European court of human rights will say , he should serve the maximum sentence available under English law "Life in Prison".

The parents of Cornick must be living in a nightmare, wondering how they have bred such an evil child and thinking they are to blame for not stopping him from committing this heinous crime.

The other children were actually the same age as this boy and people are happy enough to treat him as an adult.

I think it's absolutely shocking that none of them reported his threats to another teacher or showed their parents his comments on Facebook.

One of the most chilling things said about him by a psychiatrist was that he was able to control his outward façade when he was incredibly angry.

Thompson and Venables were eventually released, and their crime was horrifying.

Mad versus bad has puzzled the authorities for centuries. But you just can't let psychopaths out of a secure containment to roam free among the population. It isn't safe. How can the psychiatrists be sure he's 'cured'? Quite a few cases have been let out of eg Broadmoor and gone on to commit murder again.

However, if he's truly mentally ill, he can hardly be be 'punished' whatever he's done. Just contained.
Like many others on here, I'm mystified as to how there were no signs of his disturbed mind picked up by his teachers at the school.

I thought he had been diagnosed with a personality disorder with psychopathic tendencies ?

If he has then he is very unwell and may not be able to be rehabilitated.

You all might be interested in the new series set in Broadmoor starting tomorrow I believe. I once worked there- it is an interesting place.

Quillpen - I think it is reasonably normal for teenagers to over-dramatise their responses and emotional reactions to events though, isn't it?
I know when I was a young teen, I wasn't very happy (for no particular reason, I just didn't "fit" well into my family at the time) and I drew a map of a murderous assault course, showing where my brother and sister could and would meet their grisly demise. It wasn't something I was ever going to act on, but it was an outlet for my frustration and rage, and an over-reaction to my (at the time) hatred for them. I grew out of it.

Also, it's something people say - "oh I could kill her/him, she/he annoys me so much!" - and people mostly don't take it literally. They take it as an expression of frustration.

This boy's peers had probably said similar about people they were angry with at the time, with no more thought about it - just something you say, something you might even fantasise about, but not something you'd ever actually do.

I don't think I or my friends were particularly unusual in being angry and frustrated teens who occasionally expressed murderous intent, but with absolutely no intention of following it through.

You all might be interested in the new series set in Broadmoor starting tomorrow I believe. I once worked there- it is an interesting place.

I would be VERY interested in that Annie. Could you possibly tell me more about it. i.e what the series is called and what channel it's being aired on? I rely on streaming for UK tv as I'm abroad at the moment, so having a quick look at the tv listing in the daily paper won't really help me. Thanks for the headsup!

I think his peers must have believed he wasn't serious or have been afraid of him. I teach at a large secondary school in a city and have confiscated fire works, knives, and once a machete which was to be used in a fight after school. We have a 'see something, say something' policy, but sometimes a student like

I don't hold any of the other pupils responsible in any way. However, I cannot understand why not one of them (who would know he had a particular Ilogical hatred of MRs Maquire did not mention it . It is one thing as a pupil saying you Cant stand a teacher, another saying you want to 'Knife Them' and also kill a unborn child from another pregnant teacher.
All my children would have told me and would have gone straight to their form teacher or head of year if they had read or heard anything like that.

It is one thing being a 'Grass Or Teacher's Pet" for relatively little things .however , any mention of possible violence with possible deadly or life changing consequences need to be reported immediately by students or staff.

Sorry posted too soon. A student like Will Cornick will surface, who has great sway over his peers, while seeming harmless.

I know I work in a particularly challenging school, but my mum was a teacher and I remember her talking about the risk of violence against teachers back in the early 90s. Also many of my older colleagues have commented in the past about it being "only a matter of time" before we see violent crimes against teachers on the increase.

MayyHem - it's called "Broadmoor", ITV, 9 p.m. tomorrow. It's a two-part documentary.

I completely agree smoke, but sometimes there are students who have an indescribable power and influence over their peers. These individuals can exercise complete control over others, through fear, through charisma. I know kids who have done things that lead to expulsion, that have failed to report dangerous situations because they were manipulated.

"I am conflicted. I can see how you feel, but as a mother, I can't help but seeing someone elses little boy who's lost his way."

Me too. He was 15 yrs old. He needs help and no, that doesn't mean it was his parents fault. I am a chronic depressive who has seriously considered suicide at my lowest times. I don't blame my parents.

Here you go Maryy and anybody else who is interested. Some of my former colleagues have been interviewed and are involved.

Broadmoor.

Annie and Wanda, many thanks . I'll definitely watch it.

I think asking why the other kids didn't say something is wrong.
they are innocent kids and will always have the "what if" hanging over them as it is,
he committed the crime, not them,
so perhaps give them a break.

It could so easily have been another pupil or several others that Will Cornick could have knifed to death because they "looked at him" . He has a personality that makes him want to kill because he does not like what somebody might have said or not said. I think Mrs Maquire might have been the target because as a "Bright Boy" he was able to get away with not his best work . Because she was a "great" teacher she was not going to accept lazy work from him and expected better from him. He saw this as "disrespecting" him and that brought out his "psychopathic" tendencies to her. It could so easily been another child or a "Work" mate. The reality is that sooner or later he was going to kill someone. The mind set he has will never make him a safe person in society even in 50 years time.

Following Annie's link, it seems that this was originally produced by Channel 5 in 2013, and is now being repeated by ITV. So, you can either watch it online now via Annie's link, or watch it via terrestrial tomorrow night.

He has the same mentality as Dale Cregan killing for no particular reason. Cregan lured two police woman to his house and killed them , then walked to the nearest police station laughed and gave himself up. In some ways these are even more disturbing crimes than what Harry Bates did killing police officers trying to stop his crime.

It's not the same documentary. I saw the Channel 5 series and it was largely about the history of the hospital. There were interviews with former staff. This one looks as if it has more access.

"The mind set he has will never make him a safe person in society even in 50 years time"

You can't know this for a fact though. None of us can see the future.

I think it is right that sentences should allow for at least the possibility of rehabilitation and remorse. Whether it comes to be, we shall see. It is also entirely possible the boy will never be released. What is important is taht we don't just throw away the key the minute someone is convicted, we allow for the possibility of change and review.

It is interesting, 60-80 years ago, when attitudes were probably tougher than now, I wonder if people would have been more open to the idea that we should allow for a hope of rehabilitation, because it was the Christian thing to do, and people were more steeped in religious values?

Did I give the wrong link?

Even in Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth, the wards are predicated on the idea that prisoners/patients will move from assessment to maximum to medium to somewhere like the Villas as they become stabilised. They may move up or down the accommodation spectrum and frequently do.

All started off in assessment and were then allocated a ward. All of us were, at some point, exposed to violence and attack. It used to be much worse in the eighties and early nineties. A colleague of mine had boiling water poured all over them by a patient deemed to be less high risk than they turned out to be and another had most of his front teeth knocked out. The home made weapons were and I remember seeing the prisoners lighter on my first day and laughing from disbelief and amusement. It was mounted onto a two feet block of wood to stop them from secreting it away!

It used to be a horrendous place to work in terms of risk to staff and to the prisoners.

hope I am not derailing, but thanks again ladies for the tv tips. I will watch the 2013 Broadmoor docu this week, then the new 2 parter next week.

Annie, I remember years back staying with friends in Camberley (sp? close to Broadmoor) and the "escape alarm" going off. I have never been so petrified. Then I found out it was just the regular monthly (or whatever) testing of the alarm system. As interested as I am in forensic psychiatry, it is purely at a book/tv level. I sincerely doubt I would even have the nerve to visit such a place, let alone work in one. I have a lot of respect for those of you who do.

"Also surely he must be mentally ill to have behaved the way he did"

Why? I really dislike how this is trotted out on these type of threads. Why do some people find it impossible to comprehend that some people are just "bad" rather then "mad"! But to answer your question then no, someone doesn't have to be mentally ill to be a killer sigh
*

because most people consider bad to that extent to be mad, as that amount of bad means something is wrong in their head when they are unable to see why they shouldn't just kill a teacher.