1. What should a society do
With young people who commit murder?

2. In 1993, a toddler went missing in a shopping centre in Liverpool
His name was Jamie Bulger
He was 2

3. CCTV images showed him being led away

4. Everyone suspected an adult paedophile
But a closer look at the CCTV showed that his abductors were younger than that

5. Jon Venables & Robert Thompson were 10 when they killed Jamie
The newspapers screamed about evil
Their parents were blamed for their bad parenting
Crowds gathered at the court-room to scream abuse
The behaviour of the mob was almost as shocking as the murder

7. The judge said
The killing of James Bulger was an act of unparalleled evil and barbarity.

8. You will be securely detained for very, very many years, until the Home Secretary is satisfied that you have matured and are fully rehabilitated and until you are no longer a danger.”

9. They were detained until they were 18
When they were released, they were given false Identities to protect them
Many people, especially in Liverpool believe that their punishment was far too light
12 years after Jamie’s death, there is still a great deal of rage that his killers haven’t suffered enough

10. Jamie’s Mum, Denise Has fought to have them imprisoned for longer
And also to be told where they are living under their new identities

11. Several newspapers have tried to ‘hunt them down’

12. 1994 in Trondheim, Norway…a year after the Bulger murder

13. In a quiet community which hardly has any crime
2 6yr old boys kicked & beat a 5yr old friend called Silje
They stripped her & left her unconscious in the snow
Where she died

14. Horrifyingly similar But the reaction could not be more different
The boys have never been named & they didn’t go to court
Within a couple of weeks, they returned to school
They’ve been treated as victims rather than killers

15. When Sillje’s mother is asked whether she hates the boys
She is astonished by the question
Should they have been punished, locked up?
"No, they were punished enough by what they did. They have to live with that. I think everybody has got to be treated like a human being. The children had to be educated, had to learn how to treat other people so they could get back into society."

16. A psychologist in the case says…
"I don't think making them suffer is the way to make them realise what had happened. When you are continually punished for something you can't undo you have to do something to protect yourself so you begin to imagine it's not really you who did it. You develop a split personality."

17. 2 very different approaches to children who have killed
What is your reaction?
Do you think the treatment of the killers in either case is too harsh, too lenient or just right?
It is worth noting that the age of criminal responsibility in Norway is 15
In the UK it is 10