James Bulger's mother demands right to find freed killers

[suzywong]

as reported in the \link{http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/news/news1.shtml\news of the world.

Should she have the right?

Discuss

There was a really interesting article in the guardian about Denise Fergus actually. It was making the point that the parents of other murdered children in high profile cases (like Sara Payne or Stephen Lawrence) have had the opportunity to channel their grief into a cause aiming to prevent the same happening to others, whereas it seems Denise Fergus has not had that opportunity. No criticism there of Denise Fergus AT ALL, it was sympathetic to her.

Denise actually has had the opportunity, and will continue to have more opportunities. They are not provided to her by the court system. But, those letters will still come through her mailbox. And, one day, she will find the other one. No idea what she'll do when she does. Hopefully, for her sake she can remain calm as she did for the first one.

What I actually find really amazing is the number of people who who are not directly realted to this case any more than those of us on this thread feel compelled to go to the effort to send Denise information which they think she may find helpful.

SD - that's a good point and perhaps if she had the opportunity to channel her energy into something that might mean James has not died in vain, so to speak, it would help her enormously (though of course her pain will always be there).

It's a good point that it seems there is nowhere else for her energy/anger to go, particularly now that T&V are released and James is still gone. She still doesn't really know which way to turn does she - she is completely consumed with it (and understandbly so). It must feel to her like, 'so my baby has gone, everyone just carries on'.

God, it really hurts to write 'James' - I've got a James.

Isn't it valid to ask why some people, acting of their own free will, inflict violence? To ask this question and seek answers to it does not mean that anyone condones or excuses the barbaric behaviour of Thompson and Venables.

Doesn't there come a point when hate serves only to sour your own life and the lives of those you love, without achieving anything or affecting the objects of that hate? Of course Denise Fergus' pain will never go away - how could it? No mother would ever suggest such a thing.

If I was her I know that I would be hearing in my heart the cries of my dying child for the rest of my days and I cannot bear to think of the pain the poor woman endures every day. But I think I would also need to try to understand why these children were capable of killing - what had happened, in terms of either nature or nurture, that caused them not to be bound by the morality that most of us understand to at least some extent by the age of 10yrs. I don't have the answers, but I'd want someone to look for them and maybe help save some other child and his/her family such an awful fate.

That is not condoning murder, that is not excusing the barbarism of the killers, that is not attempting to ignore or belittle the pain of James' family.

I don't think she has had that opportunity. Sara Payne's parents were able to campaign to change the law re: paedophiles, Stephen Lawrence's parents were able to campaign against racism and for improved opportunities for young black people. In James Bulger's case, perhaps because it was such a freakish occurrence that couldn't readily be attached to a particular issue, that opportunity has not been available to the parents. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not arguing for the sake of it here, but I thought it was a really interesting point.

Good post GDG, I agree with you.

Just meant that she has the opportunity to track them down. I didn't mean she has really been able to channel the grief into anything that would help her to feel that James didn't die in vein.

I hope none of my children ever die before I do.

Thats it SD - nothing immediately springs to mind that she could focus on in this instance.

The media, particularly the tabloids, are guilty of making James' parents' ordeal even worse, if that is possible

I knew I'd spell 'vein' wrong!

Actually Gobbledigoose, you spelt it correct!! Vein is the thing blood runs through

So I did!!! Why did I assume I was wrong!?

Sorry, GDG, you didn't! Vain is the spelling of the "for nothing" version of the word. Sorry!

Bigfatmomma - why are you saying sorry? Did you say I'd spelt it wrong? I thought it was just me who thought I'd got the incorrect spelling but actually I hadn't!

stop gobbling!

You know that's like asking me to breathe!

Not to breathe even!

The thing that really always upsets me is his age. He will not have had the foggiest idea why these boys were being so violent and nasty towards him (Not that it would be any easier for an older child, but older kids know there are nasty people in the world, he was still totally innocent to the bad stuff)
(Have avoided getting involved again as i hate to think of it TBH, i remember after i'd had dd i lay awake one l night staring at her and thinking of him, i'd never understood how horrififc it was before seeing my dd IYKWIM - poor woman must be in pain every day)

GDG, was saying sorry for disillusioning you...keep gobbling.....

Santa and the reindeer there is a worse crime my
"uncle is a peadophile and I and my family have suffered at his hands in numerous ways.He abused my brother who has had to live with the memories.My brother has become a horrid person whom I have nothing to do with.I have therefore lost him also he then got my cousins to acuse my brother of abuse which i knew to be untrue.My brother was cleared of all charges but my Nan never spoke to us again saying it was all untrue about uncle even though he had been convicted.She died before my family started to mend and never met my daughter.My whole family is a mess and so are the lives of all his victims and I cannot stop him and have to live with the fear he may try to hurt my children.My brother in my mind would have been better off dead as he is no longer the person he was.

I'm sorry to hear about your family's problems. It sounds truly dreadful. Maybe your brother would have been better off dead.

But as the widow of a murder victim I have to disagree that there is a worse crime than murder.

(I was SantaandtheReinder.)

I did not mean to offend.
My point is that after suffering abuse such as my brother suffered death is pref. as it has made him the hateful person he has become.People often speak of peadophillia as a lesser crime to murder but believe me when I say that being made to live with these memories is far worse than knowing nothing at the end.My partners aunts were killed by an idiotic 17yr old in his new porshe we were orig told they didn't suffer but later told one did so my heart goes out to you and others who have felt loss.From the point of view I have this is just how I feel.
I had not seen your later posts as acted when I saw your orig.My apologies if I have caused offence.

Well ... I found out this evening from a reliable source that the killers have been relocated to a city in Western Australia..... and so have I with my small children.

I cried when I found out. That's a nice bit of news for Christmas isn't it?

Surely they would't be relocated together? I would have thought one of their conditions of parole would be never to see each other.

Sorry it's upset you so much Dingdong - but my point is that no matter how reliable your source, that part doesn't ring true so the whole story might not be?