Jon Venables: A sense of perspective

Jon Venables: A sense of perspective



The Daily Telegraph is reporting...

James Bulger killer returned to jail 'due to drug use and violence'

Jon Venables, one of the killers of the toddler James Bulger, was returned to prison after developing a serious drug habit and using violence, it has been reported.

"Venables is alleged to have had difficulty controlling his temper since his release and was apparently involved in a recent fight before being returned to prison.

The 27-year-old came to the attention of police on two previous occasions: once when he was caught snorting cocaine down an alleyway, and another time when he became involved in a row outside a nightclub, according to a report in the Daily Mirror.

He allegedly began taking cocaine and ecstasy while attending night clubs and music festivals.

He also had several brushes with the police before being subjected to an “immediate” recall to jail last month".

I remember the time when the Prison Service used to pump me full of psychotropic drugs in an attempt to control my behaviour. And the prison doctor who advised me to smoke cannabis. So, it is hardly the crime of the century for Jon Venables, if indeed it is the case, to be taking cocaine and ecstasy. Also, I have been involved in several fights over the years, and some pretty scary moments since being released, therefore we need to be careful before condemning Jon Venables for just being involved in one fight. He's done well to get by with just the one scrape or scrap, if you like, and we need to bear in mind it takes two to tango.

Jon Venables is at a disadvantage, with his life licence conditions, which require him to be lily white and an angel in a world which is less than perfect. There is the potential for conflict in every day life. It is all well and good for the Parole Board, in hindsight, to judge conduct to be unacceptable and that another course of conduct should have been employed. Usually, the Parole Board does not elaborate upon what other course should have been taken. I have been criticised by one Parole Board for ducking a fight, and by another for staying and fighting. As they are judging you cannot win. I am reminded of the lyrics by Kenny Rogers in Coward of the County "Sometimes you have to fight when you are a man". I have faced the situation where the police do not respond to a 999 call, and the aggressors are aware that the police will not respond, my hands are tied by the Parole Board with licence conditions, and yet I have still got to survive.

I can understand James Bulger's parents being angry, bitter and twisted. But, it is precisely because of the emotions that victim's family and relatives express that they be kept out of decisions concerning the offenders. At a time when Jack Straw is silencing prisoners from speaking out on Twitter, James Bulger's mother tweets an attack upon Jon Venables. And yet, James Bulger's father makes the false claim that the human rights of offenders are being balanced against the human rights of victims family and they are coming down in favour of the offenders. It is a fase perception used by some sections of the media and politicians who should know and act more responsibily rather than fan the flames.

The Independent has a report in relation to the socially acceptable use of cocaine, unless the snorter is Jon Venables, of course!

A report released by the Home Affairs Select Committee suggests that cocaine is now seen as socially acceptable in Britain and that while much is being done to tackle the supply side of the cocaine industry not enough is being done to address the spiralling demand. The report by MPs came a day after a separate NHS report identified a worrying increase in hospital admissions relating to cocaine use among teenagers.