A disturbing crime happened in the UK this week when a 5 year old boy was seriously injured in a woods whilst walking home. I have to point out that no proof exists yet but the police are concentrating their enquiries on a group of children around the age of 12. The 5 year old boy ended up with injuries to his neck which suggested that something very tight had been tied around it and bruises all over his body- fortunately he has been discharged from hospital but how long will the event stay with him?
Personally I can't imagine letting my 5 year old son walk home on his own but that's a separate issue. The question is just how responsible are these children for the crime if it is proven to have been committed by them? For many of us the incident described above brings back memories of one of the most horrid crimes ever to take place on British Soil- the murder of Jamie Bulger. I can't remember the facts exactly but he was around two and a half years old and was escorted out of a shopping centre by 2 ten year old boys who had a plan of what they wanted to do to him.
He ended up dead on a railway track after they had, amongst other things, twisted his testicles until they bled and it appears that they had coaxed (or bullied) him into running onto the track. I did not write the previous sentence for effect but to highlight what these '10' year old boys did to him... I repeat- 10 years old.
Because they were only 10 they are now free from jail (due to the fact they were tried in an adult court- error!) and can live a comfortable life free from their previous troubles. They have new identities, probably paying jobs and a much better life than they could have expected had they remained in the environment that they were brought up in which was basically a very poor area with huge amounts of crime and little chance of a future the rest of us are blessed with and work hard for. Compare this to the life Jamie's parents have had to live following the death of their son- the one thing parent's wish for above all else if that their children outlive them but tragedy strikes when you least expect it and they have had to deal with what happened to their son every day since.
Are the killers less guilty because they were only 10 years old? Is it all the fault of their parents? Do they understand the difference between pulling the legs off a spider and killing a child?
Answers; No, yes to a point and of course they do.
I have spoken to a few people about this subject and opinions seem to be very much divided, ranging in extremes from "they have no idea to what they are doing" to "they should be hung!" The case of Jamie Bulger was unique and thankfully incredibly rare but I personally do not feel that they should have been let out so early- obviously there is a point where innocence ends and putting an age on that is impossible to do. Having said that the crime itself must be a good indicator of the person's state of mind.
What do you think? Where do we draw the line at punishing children for terrible crimes? Is 10 years old too early to be prosecuted for murder?
Tell me there's a heaven by Chris Rea
The little girl she said to me
What are these things that I can see
Each night when I come home from school
And mama calls me in for tea
Oh every night a baby dies
And every night a mama cries
What makes those men do what they do
To make that person black and blue
Grandpa says their happy now
They sit with God in paradise
With angels wings and still somehow
It makes me feel like ice
Tell me theres a heaven
Tell me that its true
Tell me theres a reason
Why Im seeing what I do
Tell me theres a heaven
Where all those people go
Tell me theyre all happy now
Papa tell me that its so
So do I tell her that its true
That theres a place for me and you
Where hungry children smile and say
We wouldnt have no other way
That every painful crack of bones
Is a step along the way
Every wrong done is a game plan
To that great and joyful day
And Im looking at the father and the son
And Im looking at the mother and the daughter
And Im watching them in tears of pain
And Im watching them suffer
Dont tell that little girl
Tell me
Tell me theres a heaven
Tell me that its true
Tell me theres a reason
Why Im seeing what I do
Tell me theres a heaven
Where all those people go
Tell me theyre all happy now
Papa tell me that its so
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