A plea for fairness

I have to admit the news has really been getting to me. If I hear one more thing about Jon Venables I think I'll scream.

As far as I can understand this young man is once more in prison. From the press & the fuss you would think he has been found guilty of another terrible crime. But at this stage we don't even know for certain if he's accused of anything serious. He could just have dropped some litter.

Even if he has been arrested for a serious crime, he hasn't been tried. We have no idea if he is innocent or not. He may be innocent but with all this press coverage he's not going to get a fair impartial trial. And meanwhile his fellow prisoners may realise who he is and beat him up or some such behaviour.

The killing of baby Bulger was 17 years ago. Surely this man has grown up & may have developed into quite a different person. Would you want to be judged for what you were as a 10 year old? I'm not sure I would.

One thing is certain is that he won't have had a normal childhood. It must have taken a lot of readjustment to the real world outside prison. And if this is the sort of reaction of a fair society, he won't have had much help in making the readjustment. I just hope the second child involved in the Bulger murder, isn't to be hounded, not because of his actions now, but because of the actions of Venables.

Please don't get me wrong. Anyone who has committed a crime should be punished. If there is to be a trial, the past behaviour of Venables may have relevance. But it is then, and only then, that his identity should be revealed. And if he is found guilty, it is then, and only then, that he should be condemned.

Part of the point of prison is to rehabilitate, & afterwards to give a second chance. This is particularly pertinent for 10 year olds as Venables & his partner in crime were at the time of the horrific Bulger murder. Any children change as they mature, hopefully for the better, even those in prison. At 10 they are young enough to change.