A Case Comparison

As I sat in my crim2020 tutorial a week ago, a girl in my class was presenting a slideshow and fifteen minute lecture on the abduction, torture and murder of three-year-old James Bulger in 1993 by two 10 year old boys; Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. Along with this terrible crime, the student carried on to talk about another young child murderer by the name of Mary Bell who I had previously not heard about. In this case, Mary had strangled two young boys on separate occasions in 1968; one four-year-old Martin Brown and three-year-old Brian Howe. What was interesting was the way that the media, the public and the criminal justice system reacted to both of these crimes. In the Bulger case it is well known that the two boys faced heavy amounts of ridicule and hate from both the media and the people of Liverpool and England. It is also noted that the family of a boy questioned by police was forced to leave their hometown near Liverpool. Furthermore, the way in which the presiding judge decided to sentence the boys varied greatly from the Mary Bell case.

Here is one of the examples of some of the hatred towards the boys which has carried on to the present day which is really quite scary actually:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9prbdfaLs

Now, by comparison, in the case of Mary Bell, some 25 years earlier, who in fairness looks like a bit of a loo-loo (see below), the young girl was treated conversely different than the Bulger killers. Mary was not sent to prison but rather a more school for rehabilitation. She has since returned to society and is a loving grandmother and contributor to the world around her. The influence the media had on this case is notable as well. Due to the lenient nature of the newspapers in relation to this case, much of the public sympathised with Mary. Although the Bulger murders were not as being troublesome with troubled youths, the public heard Mary’s story (abusive father and prostitute mother) and begged for her support and rehabilitation, which is a far stretch from the proposed hangings of Venables and Thompson!

I believe there is much to do in the field of child murderers, though I suppose it happens so rarely it is quite difficult to really know how to react.

Here's the loo-loo I was talking about:

They say the eyes say alot about people, the gateway to the soul. I hope for Mary's grandchildrens sake those eyes have changed over the years!