James Bulger's killers - Should they be protected?

And then I guess there's the nature of the crime. Because of how disgusting it is, some people don't feel that 10 or so years in prison is enough..

Named and shamed? Public humiliation (and whatever follows) has not been a part of our justice system for centuries, and nor should it be. What purpose does it serve? Are we really that insecure that we need to vilify others and group ourselves into nice, big, secure lynch mobs to make ourselves feel better about ourselves?

They've served their time. They were very young (younger than the age of criminal responsibility in some European countries) with a terrible upbringing. What they did was wrong, not a shadow of a doubt about it. However, we cannot possibly be advocating whole life sentences for 10 year olds when they can barely be held responsible for their actions.

Named and shamed? Public humiliation (and whatever follows) has not been a part of our justice system for centuries, and nor should it be. What purpose does it serve? Are we really that insecure that we need to vilify others and group ourselves into nice, big, secure lynch mobs to make ourselves feel better about ourselves?

They've served their time. They were very young (younger than the age of criminal responsibility in some European countries) with a terrible upbringing. What they did was wrong, not a shadow of a doubt about it. However, we cannot possibly be advocating whole life sentences for 10 year olds when they can barely be held responsible for their actions.

Well some of the arguments are that it is costing the tax payer millions to keep their identity secret.. plus there has been negotiations with people not to publish their whereabouts which has cost another lump of money.

Then there is the issue which I raised in my original post about them getting with a woman and being under no obligation to disclose their true identity - and potentially having children with her. Yes, they have served their sentence - but is it right that someone else might end up with them being totally oblivious to their past?

And then I guess there's the nature of the crime. Because of how disgusting it is, some people don't feel that 10 or so years in prison is enough..

They should be protected.

Old enough to commit the crime - most certainly old enough to do the time the hideous crime deserves.

The act was premeditated, cold blooded murder an act which should carry a life sentence no matter what age.

I'm quite sure if you were the father of a child that died in horrific circumstances similar to that of James Bulger your opinion would be somewhat different....think of the mother's point of view, she could walk past the person that brutally murdered her son in the street and not even know it. To me, that is wrong.

Wasn't the UK age of criminal responsibility lowered because of this case? Or am I thinking of something else?

are you serious? it's ******* disgusting...

a) I think the phrase "millions" is waaaay out of proportion, there are plenty of people all around the UK who are under police protection. I actually think that it is money well spent to protect our system of justice and the police would have to protect them much, much more if their identities were known.

b) It is very unlikely that they would commit a crime as henous as this and not have gone through a massive level of psychological assesment before being allowed out of prison. If they are deemed to be safe to be set free then they are safe enough to be able to have childeren. I am a firm believer that people change, especially from when they were so young.

c) Just because you, personally, feel that 10 years is not long enough it gives you no right whatsoever to dictate any kind of justice. That is for the courts and legal system to decide. We agree to live by this sytem of rules when we live in this nation and so we must abide by them, we can argue and question them but we should not dispense our own justice.

i dont think they should be protected. i think in cases like this the uk should be like america and bring in the death sentence. its disgusting. at the age of 10, course you're still a child but you know the difference between right and wrong and they must've known that what they were doing was wrong, disgusting and plain psychotic. they dont deserve to even live a **** life where they have to hide their identity and be careful about who they talk to.

one of the boys recently had a child. the woman doesnt know who he really is. that in itself is sick. the woman deserves to know whose child she's bringing into the world.

I agree that they should be allowed to be protected - but this point is the one thing that kinda holds me back.. I don't doubt that they are safe enough to have children - but essentially, I could meet one of them tomorrow, fall in love with him (under his new identity), and plan to live my life with him, having no idea who he is or what he did. Would I not have the right to know? I mean, we all have a past.. but this is next level stuff.
.