James Bulger killer Jon Venables denied parole". BBC News. 27 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 . Retrieved 27 June 2011. The game's developer, Legacy Interactive, released a statement in which it apologised for the image's inclusion in the game; according to the statement, the image's use was "inadvertent", and took place "without any knowledge of the crime, which occurred in the UK, and was minimally publicised in the United States". [140] 2008 'true crime'-style stage play [ edit ] a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Smith, David James (3 April 2011). "The Secret Life of a Killer" (PDF). The Sunday Times Magazine: 22–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2013.

On 25October 2016, a man was jailed for 26weeks for stalking Denise Fergus; he had previously received a police warning for stalking her in 2008. [94] Later life of Jon Venables [ edit ] Relationships [ edit ] Sharratt, Tom (2 November 1993). "James Bulger murder". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. It quotes the 18-year-old Thompson’s parole statement to suggest he had been subjected to violence during his childhood, and had from the age of eight spent most of his time on the streets with “friends whose main occupation was committing crime and causing trouble”. Now the tide has turned and finally he is facing real prison time where he should have been from the beginning.”

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Lynn Roberts added: "I never realised just how young the people were that found James' body. It's no wonder this man suffered. It must have been such a traumatic experience to see how James had suffered." The then shadow home secretary, Tony Blair, vowed to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” as both main parties jostled for a more punitive approach. In 1998, the new Labour government abolished an important legal principle that protected children aged 10 to 14 from being criminalised. Four years later, Blair introduced new police targets that caused a huge increase in the number of young people in trouble with the law for the first time, peaking at 110,784 in 2006/7. It has since fallen sharply and today stands at just over 8,000, of whom 320 are aged 10 to 12. England, Wales and Northern Ireland remain some of the only nations in the western world to criminalise children under 12. Thirty years on, it is difficult to find anyone satisfied with the judicial and political response to the killing. Fergus, 55, believes Venables should never be let out of prison. “Thirty years does seem like yesterday, the wounds don’t ever heal when you have buried a child, but they certainly can never do so when one of the murderers responsible persists in reoffending and then continues to bid for freedom,” she wrote in new chapters of her memoir, I Let Him Go, published to mark the 30th anniversary.

Laing, Aislinn (10 March 2010). "Bulger killer Jon Venables posed 'trivial' risk to the public, said psychiatrist". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010 . Retrieved 10 March 2010.

Both were found guilty of the heinous crime, with the judge at their trial in November 1993 branding James' murder an act of "unparalleled evil and barbarity."

a b "Young suspects 'intimidated' by trial". BBC News. 15 March 1999. Archived from the original on 7 July 2003 . Retrieved 16 March 2010.A minute's applause in the 30th minute of the match was also carried out by supporters inside Anfield to mark the occasion. However, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern issued a short and sharp response to reports Venables could apply to relocate to the country. In 91 seconds, they had spirited him out of the Strand and begun the long walk across Bootle and Walton to a railway line where they had a den on the embankment. They were seen by 38 people, most of whom did nothing, perhaps believing, understandably, that no horror could be committed by such young boys. Some thought James was their little brother.