Denise Fergus, the mother of James Bulger, turned up at the Old Bailey to see a trial which does not and should not concern her and unreasonably expected preferential treatment. Naturally, she was then disappointed when she did not get her way. Egged on irresponsibly by the Sun and Daily Mail, she gives vent to her anger and bitter and twisted emotions.
The best advice I can give her is to get over it. Stalking Jon Venables for the rest of her life will not bring back James Bulger. In effect, she is inflicting a cruel and unusual punishment upon Venables. He has endured enough, satisfying the twin aims of retribution and deterrence which make up the tariff element of a life sentence. He has paid his debt to society for his part in the killing of James Bulger. It is unfair upon Jon Venables and Denise Fergus, and the Sun and Daily Mail editors should hang their heads in shame.
The Mail on Sunday with the story and longest winded headline I have seen is here.
7 comments:
A different angle, to be sure, John.
I agree.
Venables was caught, charged, pleaded guilty and was sentenced. That is the way the criminal justice system works and unless we want to go back to the pitchfork and lighted torch, the I'm afraid Denise Fergus is going to have to accept that she has no further part to play in this process.
Her former husband appears to have accepted this fact and always appears to have a more temperate response, not needing to take money from the Daily Mail for their 'exclusive' interviews.
Venables' sentence (contrary to what she appears to think) is actually at the high end for these sorts of crimes. I personally think it is warranted although a secure psychiatric unit would probably be a preferable institution for him.
There is also Robert Thompson to consider who must be under enormous stress. At least Venables is safely under lock and key!
The thing that concerns me is this comment from their lawyer:
"Mr Makin said: "There has been no connection back to the original murder, which had a sexual element. There hasn't been full, factual disclosure of things that are a risk to the public.""
Sexual element? How can there be a sexual element to two 10 year olds murdering a two year old? How can two 10 year old children have known anything about sex?
(p.s. I'm not deluded, but i have done SOTP core...)
The police thought there might be a sexual element to the crime (the toddler's underwear had been removed and there was some suggestion that the foreskin may have been touched) but the coroner said it was impossible to say.
I'd say this obsession has more to do with the police than the crime!
I agree that two ten year old boys are not likely to have had any sexual reasons and it is a relief that the judge in this case agreed on Friday; hence there was no increase in sentence for the past offence.
If I had lost a son in such a way I would probably feel guilty and that it was my fault that I didn't keep a close enough eye on him.
I think that would be a quite common feeling and some people would deal with that by trying to firmly place the blame on someone else.
By doing that ultimately they destroy themselves.
Cherrypie: That's pre4cisely what she is doing and the media are helping with the self destruct.
If you let things eat you up inside you only do yourself harm.
Whatever you may think of Denise Fergus and however insane it may be-as in advising her to "get over it!", you should at least be respectful enough towards her and to females in general to not use the term that you used in your title. It destroys all of your credibility and it is unspeakably cruel. You have not walked in her shoes and you don't appear to have a compassionate bone in your body. Jon Venables is a danger to society and needs to be treated as such. His crimes are not to be minimized and swept under the rug. No doubt your past is the reason why you speak of him as though he is a good little boy gone lost. However, the fact remains that James Bulger never stood a chance with that 10 year old demon and those exploited, defenseless children ( some of whom were as young as two and were RAPED!!!!!) have also stood no chance against the now 27 year old demon. Is that who you defend????? You should be ashamed of yourself. Prisoner's rights indeed!
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