Bibliography

www.muderuk.com
www.bbc.co.uk - when children kill children

Blog # 6

After looking at each of the previous cases i noticed how differently England and Norway treated the child killers. Thompson and Venables were taken into custody almost immediately after Jamie Bulgers body was found. The legal age for prosecution in Norway is fifteen years old, in Britain the age is ten years old. Although the death of five year old Silje Raedergard shocked and outraged the local people, the two boys that so cruelly ended her life did not have any punishment. However across the world children that kill still case disgrace and confusion. The reason why is simply because children are 'supposed' to be innocent. They are meant to have not yet been effected by the harshness and the evils of the world. One of the factors that i considered was that perhaps films played a certain part in the actions of these killings. Since film became more common, and children have easily been able to gain access to clips and films via the Internet violence seems to be more of an issue on the streets and in playgrounds. The BBFC (British Board of film classification) put ratings on films for a reason. However when some films are criticised for being able to have been realised, the reply from the film censors is simple; there are some cases of copycat killers that work in the style of a film, but there is no evidence what so ever that a film could make a normal mentally stable person with morals and a distinct sense of right and wrong act out a killing just been that's what they've seen in a film. What the classification board don't address is, what if the films, video games etc are viewed by young children? There is an awful lot of responsibility left on a parent shoulders with regards to access to violence. Another possibility is that these children could have been exposed to violence and abuse themselves and accepted this as normal and just. In effect carrying these actions out on the young have enormously back fired on them. It is known that Thompson and Venables were being bullied by a group of older children. Were they in fact carrying out with they had been subjected to. What ever creates a child killer doesn't make the prospect or idea any easier to understand. Any question that will be asked is in the cases of all these killers, now that they are free, will they kill again. Could such a cruel person that has performed such a vile act ever change. This is a question that can only be answered after a tragedy has happened. Do we feel safe, and should we feel safe, when the law lets murderers still at a relatively young age out into the world again. Another worry is that Thompson, Venables and their close families will be given new identities, with money that comes out of our tax that we give. They will be able to marry, their partner will be oblivious to their bloody secret, and maybe the most disturbing part of all; they will be able to have children, when they so cruelly took away the life of some one else. Children killers cause enormous debate and confusion, luckily because there are so few. All that is left to say is that each case has been individually treated, will we be subjected to a child who kills other children in the future, with violence getting featured more and more regularly in the media, prospects look grim, and the answer to that frightening question?... well I'll leave you to decide.

Blog # 5

As gun culture in America increases so does the death rate. However the question is what happens when a six year old boy gets hold of a gun? Which is exactly what happened in Michigan. In March 2000 a little boy shot dead fellow classmate Kayla Rolland in his Primary school. However he is too young to be prosecuted so can not be held accountable for what he did. The little boy lived in a so called 'flophouse' where guns and drugs were everywhere. Genese County prosecutor Arthur Busch said that the little boy 'did not understand what he had done, did not appreciate the consequences of his actions and appeared to take this as some sort of television programme. The boy was questioned after the incident and the boy had claimed that the gun was only to scare the little girl and not to hurt her. The gun had been left fully loaded in reach of the six year old boy, this prospect for anyone is scarily chilling and grossly irresponsible. The little boy and his brother had been staying for about two weeks with their uncle, after their mother had been evicted from her home. The boys father who is impression for a violation of a parole order told police that people at the house traded crack cocaine for guns. The boy pointed the gun at another child before shooting Kayla Rolland in the chest. This horrific ordeal is yet another example of what effect exsposure to violence has on children.

Blog # 4

Just a year after the death of Jamie Bulger, in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, a murder case simiular to Jamie's happened. However the two six year old boys that performed the attack were realised without charge. Five year old Silje Raedergard was attacked by two six year old boys and left to die in the snow. The outcome of the murder was very different for the boys who killed this defenceless young child. On the 15th October 1994 Silje Raedergard was playing football with her friends. The little girl had played with these two boys many times before. However this time was different, the two boys became extremly agressive towards Silje. After deciding to play 'snow castles' the boys became rough, they stripped the little girl and threw stones at her, the little girl fell unconscious and the two boys became scared and ran away. The ordeal shocked the surrounding locals who lived in the city of Trondheim. There had only been two deaths in the six years before the little girls murder. The change in the way that the authorities dealt wth this situation was shocking, the little boys were left to roam free after the terrible act that they had performed. How can an act such as this go so unoticed and be so callasley handled? Even though this story resulted in some press nothing was done. the little boys were treated as the victims. The young boys were allowed to return to school within a week of the attack. The only attempt to even talk to the boys about the ordeal was to counseal them for four years.

Thompson and Venables

Blog # 3

Thompson and Venables




The story of James Bulgers killing is perhaps one of the most heard about story there is in regards to children that have killed. February 12th 1993 would be the date that when remembered would send chills down the spine. The two young boys had intentionally skipped going to local school in the city of Liverpool and had planned to find a little baby who they could hit and abuse. The chilling story starts as they find little Jamie Bulger outside a Butchers shop. Jame's mother had left her children outside for a moment whilst she waited for her order to be ready. She thought that the children, who were becoming irritable would be better outside in the fresh air. However the two boys approached Jamie and took his hand and led him away from the other children, who were under the impression Jamie had gone away to play. In a series of disturbing outbursts the boys took turns to take out their inner frustrations on Jamie, kicking him and punching him to force him to walk, when he began crying for his mother. The two children led Jamie past the canal and under a bridge so that their monstrous act would be hidden. They began somewhat playfully, pushing Jamie towards the river until eventually they pushed him in. Jamie was picked up and dropped onto his head violently. The toddler began to cry loudly, the boys became afraid of being discovered so they began to run away, however they told the courts of how they decided to turn back after being sighted by a woman with children nearby. The boys decided to put Jamie's hood up so that his injuries would be concealed. The little boy was tormented further as the boys led him towards the train tracks. It was here that they would perform the terrible act that would end Jamie's life and see their confinement in an institution until their adulthood. The attack lasted for approximately forty five minutes. The boys began to splash paint over Jamie, over his body and into his eyes. They then beat the little boy with bricks, and stripped him from the waist downwards, the boys most horrific attack would perhaps be after this when they forced batteries in the toddlers backside, this is perhaps one of the most disturbing things that the two boys did. In their final disgraceful act the boys hit Jamie with an iron bar and threw him onto the train tracks. They covered the little boys face with bricks to conceal him and walked off down the road. The boys actions following the attack were most disturbing, they carried on their lives as usual. They loitered around outside shops until eventually they went home and had dinner. Thompson and Venable's were soon bought into custody, where they eventually admitted to the crime, but each blamed the other in many aspects. There was an uproar in the media hundred of newspapers were printed following the court case and revealing the shocking facts about the case. This caused terror throughout society and many people were merely disgusted when it was confirmed that the boys would eventually be let out in their later life. Many people believed that the boys behaviour was because of a film that they had watched, the boys had had said to have mimicked the film in various ways. The film was an eighteen which raises further questions; how were the boys able to watch the film?

Mary Bell

Blog # 2

Mary Bell




Mary Bell, is an extremely infamous women who as a ch id killed two young boys. This was one of the first times that this sort of behaviour had been detected in a little girl. This scared many people into believing that she had some how developed evil within her soul. At the tender age of eleven Mary Bell was found guilty of the brutal and utterly shocking crimes that she performed. She was the youngest female killer in the UK. Originally from Newcastle, Mary was born in 1957. It was known that the young girls mother was mentally disturbed, perhaps this is one of the aspects that led Mary Bell into the bloody path that she would chose. Bell was described by a court psychiatrist as intelligent, manipulative and dangerous. It was in 1968 that she was found guilty of killing two children. The victims that Mary Bell targeted were young and defenceless at three and four. Mary Bell was instituted and was released later in her adult life. It was said that she was 'reformed' and later had a child of her own. The public's shock and outrage since the killings that young Mary Bell performed died down over the twenty years that followed until the terrible day that little Jamie Bulger's life was taken, by two young children who knew the fate of the actions that they had planned.

Blogs: reviews on cases regarding children who kill

Blogs: reviews on cases regarding children who kill

Blog # 1


My job as a journalist is to review the media weekly and to pick out stories that intrigue, shock and entice readers to find out about more. My main interest has always been to write and research, so that i can effectively find information and share facts and opinions. Throughout the past few months i have taken a particular interest in children within the media and how they are represented. 'Murder' and 'missing' stories dominate front pages of national magazines and web pages. An example of children in the media would be the disappearance of three year old Madeline McCan. Her disappearance caused concern throughout the world, and millions of pounds were raised to find the young girl. As i read and researched children in the media, i discovered that the most talked about subject regarding children in the media would be the chilling subject of 'child killers.' There are many websites dedicated to this subject that many people find unnerving and frightening that children of such young ages can perform such severe acts of violence. After being assigned the task of writing six blogs i decided to review and comment of six cases of child killers, i will not however try to provide a physiological answer to the question that many ask; 'are these children victims of severe abuse and suffering?' 'are children born evil or do they develop it through what they learn.' My main concern is that children have access to many disturbing images via television and the Internet. Is this perhaps the reason that children accept the idea of killing in some cases so easily?