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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think Tina Malone deserves no sympathy

381 replies

poldarkssecretlover · 26/01/2019 09:36

She's in trouble legally for allegedly sharing photos of one of James Bulgar's killers. She is getting lots of support online but I think people are letting their hatred of the crime cloud their judgement. Surely exploiting a tragedy to get attention is not something that should be applauded! This wasn't done with any intention of "helping" James's family, was it?

OP posts:
WaxMyBalls · 27/01/2019 16:48

Well seeing as RT is in a relationship with a man and JV is in prison that's unlikely. But apparently partners have been told.

NoDealNoreen · 27/01/2019 17:07

She only retweeted. It should be whoever published it in the first place who gets into trouble. Her getting into trouble is like if I got into trouble showing a newspaper article to someone when it would be the writer who is to blame!!

randomchap · 27/01/2019 17:19

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned but what happens if one of them got a girl pregnant. Does his rights to anonymity over ride the girls right to not want a baby to a child killer

Mary Bell has lifetime anonymity because she has a daughter who needs to be anonymous. If either of them fathers a child then that would be another reason to keep them anonymous.

SoupDragon · 27/01/2019 17:27

Her getting into trouble is like if I got into trouble showing a newspaper article to someone when it would be the writer who is to blame!!

No. It would be like you getting into trouble for publishing something that had already been been published elsewhere. Tweeting is not the same as showing a mate an article.

southeastdweller · 27/01/2019 18:00

Mary Bell has lifetime anonymity because she has a daughter who needs to be anonymous. If either of them fathers a child then that would be another reason to keep them anonymous.

No, she was given lifelong anonymity before she had a child.

FedUpMum40 · 27/01/2019 18:45

There is no way anybody knows what rt is doing, who he is with, what he does, if he is in the army or not, where in the world he is, nobody on this thread will know

MrsBartlettforthewin · 27/01/2019 18:46

Marry Bell had it but not her daughter. It was only in place until her daughter was 18 then she could have been named as the daughter as Marry Bell so Bell petitioned the court for her daughter to also have life long anonymity. According to the guardian.

www.theguardian.com/media/2003/may/22/privacy.childprotection

liverbird10 · 27/01/2019 20:01

"Evil." "Monsters."

I used to spout this shit when I was 14.

Evil monsters don't exist. Sick, damaged human beings with serious problems exist. People commit vile acts. Not excusing anything... but calling humans "monsters" because they've done horrendous things is lazy and put ignorant.

liverbird10 · 27/01/2019 20:01

*pig, not put!

FrankieHeckisinTheMiddle · 27/01/2019 20:06

I don’t like the horrible mob mentality surrounding this case. The whole thing was handled badly from the outset, no one should ever have known their identity in the first place.

CallMeRachel · 27/01/2019 20:07

She deserves no sympathy but neither does she deserve prosecution over and above any of the several others who have also shared the images online.

I have zero sympathy for the killers especially the one who has gone on to reoffend violently and is also a paedophile.

They should never have had their identities protected in the first place. They were convicted so they should carry the consequences for life of what they did.

WaxMyBalls · 27/01/2019 20:14

Ah, imagine if it were only them who'd carry the consequences if their identities were revealed, and there were no risk to any unfortunate bloke who happened to look a bit like them.

CallMeRachel · 27/01/2019 20:17

But that's happened anyway.

I actually think there's a higher risk of it happening to an innocent person because there's no recent images of these men now.

Plus, perpetrators of this level of crime should not have millions of public money spent on their protection. No way.

crimsonrose19 · 27/01/2019 20:42

no one should ever have known their identity in the first place
Why should you get anonymity if you’ve committed a vile crime. Why shouldn’t the public be aware of who is around them and keep themselves safe. Protecting a child killers identity, in order to keep him safe should not override the publics right to feel safe. The criminals rights should always come last.

WaxMyBalls · 27/01/2019 20:52

Saying there've been a few people had the shit beaten out of them and topped themselves because of being mistaken for the killers, so that means there's no issue with risking more of that isn't an especially persuasive argument.

People tend to do a very bad job of understanding that the sort of protection these two have isn't just about protecting them. And given the popularity of conspiracy theories, even them literally being beaten to death in public wouldn't necessarily suffice to close the book. It would be easy enough to invent a rumour that TPTB had staged it all to protect them because they were in the same paedophile ring, but look, here we go here's the new photos of them last week, all over twitter. And repeat.

crimsonrose19 · 27/01/2019 20:55

If either of them fathers a child then that would be another reason to keep them anonymous.

So any girlfriends/prospective mothers don’t have a right to know the father of their child was a killer.......Shock

mikado1 · 27/01/2019 21:06

Waxmyballs Hmm I also thought RT was in a relationship with a man but was told on another thread he was not, v certainly, by another poster.

twattymctwatterson · 27/01/2019 21:27

mikado1 it's been widely reported in the press that RT is in a long term relationship with a man who knows his identity

mikado1 · 27/01/2019 22:05

Ok, pp must have been wrong. Thanks twatty (I seem to be tagging unfortunate usernames tonight!!)

user1457017537 · 27/01/2019 22:08

Waxmyballs it has previously been reported that he boasts about his true identity in prison and is proud of his notoriety.

WaxMyBalls · 28/01/2019 07:13

Yes. He's still unlikely to impregnate anyone at this point though. Unless he discovers the trans wheeze I suppose.

newnameforthis7 · 28/01/2019 10:22

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AhoyDelBoy · 28/01/2019 10:49

I’ve read this thread with interest. When I first clicked on it and realised it was about James Bulger I was abit Angry as it made me think about this case again (I know how awful this sounds, how absolutely horrific that this was, and still is, the reality for James’s parents Sad). I don’t live in the UK so I’m not really exposed to ongoing news media about things like Tina Malone etc. I read James’s fathers book some years ago and it was truely heart wrenching.

I think this captured world wide attention at the time because of how young the offenders were. I also think this is why the pair are dubbed ‘evil’. Simplistically, it seems like they can’t be anything but given their ages at the time. I think people think they were ‘born evil’ or some such. In contrast to adult offenders who seemed to be viewed as ‘evil’ only if they do something totally depraved (like this was). I don’t know if I’ve worded that well but I know what I mean Grin.

Maybe they will make an example of Tina Malone as she is some kind of public figure (I have no clue about her, just from reading this thread and looking at an article). Prosecuting someone high profile may act as a deterrent to others but I don’t know how that works if others who shared the photo aren’t prosecuted IYKWIM. Maybe she will have grounds for appeal based on that.

I looked up ‘JV now’ and found the pictures easily. One of the pictures certainly looks like it could be him, the other one not so much. I think they really messed up releasing the pictures of the boys in the first place, I wonder why they did that? Maybe we can put it down to the fact it was the 90s.

This situation seems like a total mess imo. They can’t make the identities of this pair known because of vigilante justice yet innocent men who are mistaken as them are targeted. Personally, I think they should have their identities released and come what may. That might ensure more protection for those that look like them as the public will have the real images and individuals themselves have to be responsible for their own behaviour. Yes they committed a truely abhorrent crime but is Joe Public willing to ‘go down’ and lose their own liberties just so they can take a pot at one of these two? I don’t know.

Greenlightredlight · 28/01/2019 10:56

Robert Thompson, despite his horrifically dysfunctional childhood, seems to have gone on to build a normal life and has not reoffended.
Jonathan Venables seems to have remained a deeply disturbed individual who is not fit to be released into society.

Neither of them deserves to have a hissing mob continually pursuing them and seeking revenge, and some of the posts on here are really shocking.

U2HasTheEdge · 28/01/2019 11:17

I am guessing you're very young yeah??? head tilt sad

You will have a different view about shit like this when you're a lot more mature, and have a lot more life experience - and when you have been through a lot of stress and difficult times in your life.

I think you are the one who is coming across as immature. I feel a bit embarrassed for you reading this.

I agree with liverbird I am not young and I have plenty of life experience and have gone through a lot of stress and difficult times in my life too.

No one has ever excused what they did.

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