The Right to Know?
What right do we have to know the nature of the offences for which Jon Venables has been sent back to prison? Large sections of the tabloid press believe we have every right; Jack Straw thinks we don't.
And, since Jack Straw is the Justice Secretary, we're not going to know; at least not for the time being.
What are we to make of this decision? Well, what would we gain from knowing why Venables - who, with Robert Thompson, murdered 2-year-old James Bulger in 1993 - has lost his liberty once more? Certainly, it is hard to believe that such knowledge would in any way serve to lessen the sense of suffering and loss still felt by those personally affected by his original crime.
And what have we lost as a result of Mr Straw's refusal to divulge the details of Venables' detention? Public transparency, according to some, and the proper sense that our justice system should be more concerned with protecting the victims of crime rather than its perpetrators, according to others. However, given that it's the routine workings of the justice system that have resulted in Venables being back behind bars and a criminal investigation into the new allegations against him being launched, such arguments are unconvincing.
True, Venables was granted a new identity on his release in 2001 - the justice system acting to protect him from the real possibility of revenge attacks. However, uncomfortable as this might seem to some, it has biblical precedent. Genesis 4 tells of the cold-blooded murder of Abel by Cain. The God of justice duly announces punishment: Cain will henceforth be alienated from the land he had loved to work, and become a 'restless wanderer on the earth' - a description with which Venables and Thompson, forever pretending to be someone they're not, can surely identify. But there is more. God also announces protection, placing a mark on Cain so that no-one who found him would kill him - so that no-one who knew of his evil might be allowed to use that knowledge to exact their own murderous revenge.
Lust for the details of Jon Venables' detention might be the best indication that it's better for everyone that we're not told. A society that is both just and wise must seek to protect people not only from crime, but also from their own propensity to evil in response to the crimes of others.
Nigel Hopper
Comments
Well said, Nigel. I agree. Society must not cave in to 'trial by media' - what an horrid thought!
Thank you to Nigel for this sensible article. Clearly we have to see Venables and Thompson as both victims and perpetrators. Punishment followed by therapy has to be a good way to deal with these kinds of mercifully rare and extraordinary crimes. I have every sympathy for Denise, Jamie Bulger's mother, but she nor the rest of us, need to know right now what Venables has allegedly done. Due process and justice for the accused and their alleged victims must take precedence over any prurient interest and the need to sell tabloid newspapers.
I feel strongly that there should not be public discussion about Jon Venables' case If he is to get a proper trial he should not be identified . I feel all the publicity must harm the Bulger family as well. As with so many things we read as Christians, I hope that we will pray for all involved.
Date:
2010-03-19 18:00:14
Author:
Rachel Thurley