Justice for James

Having just watched the Tonight programme on James Bulger, and being in the process of revising for a law exam, it reminded me again of the discourse surrounding the law in this country. Venables has of course again been arrested, and while I understand why his crime hasn't been released to the media for purposes of preserving his right to a fair trial, it makes me wonder (along with everyone else) just exactly why he's still walking our streets. James' mother speculates on the Tonight programme about the rumours flying around that Venables has been spotted in Merseyside, and her worries that he could in fact have visited her house, or James' grave. Watching her talk about her son is almost harrowing, not because she is emotional or graphic in her words, but because we can all imagine what she has been made to go through, when first her son was missing, and then when his poor little body was found beaten and mutilated. I mention these things only because this is what initially made me question the decision that was made when I was just six years old. I would hope that had I committed such a crime at even that age, I would still be in prison now. On the programme, the head of the Bulger case expressed his faith in our courts and said that he believed that they would deal with Venables now, and sentence him as he deserved. Surely the public should be the judge of that?