{"id":189165,"date":"2023-11-25T14:49:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T14:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsneednews.com\/?p=189165"},"modified":"2023-11-25T14:49:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T14:49:49","slug":"james-bulgers-father-slams-parole-board-hearing-venables-missed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsneednews.com\/world-news\/james-bulgers-father-slams-parole-board-hearing-venables-missed\/","title":{"rendered":"James Bulger&apos;s father slams parole board hearing Venables missed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>James Bulger&#8217;s father slams &#8216;twisted&#8217; parole board hearing after his son&#8217;s killer Jon Venables was allowed to miss it to protect his mental health<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u00a0Jon Venables was jailed in 1993 for the murder of two-year-old James Bulger<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Murdered toddler James Bulger&#8217;s father has lashed out at the &#8216;twisted&#8217; parole board hearing after his son&#8217;s killer Jon Venables was allowed to miss it to protect his mental health.<\/p>\n<p>Venables, now 41, failed to show up at his parole hearing and escaped listening to the victim impact statements being read out &#8211; including that of Ralph Bulger,\u00a0James&#8217; father.<\/p>\n<p>This was after he was permitted to have his hearing in private, to avoid the &#8216;disproportionate emotional stress&#8217; to the killer.<\/p>\n<p>James&#8217; father asked why Venables was allowed to miss the hearing, and said it was part of his &#8216;healing that I get to tell him the way it has affected me and my family&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The 57-year-old said it is &#8216;twisted&#8217; that he and his family will be &#8216;hurting for the rest of our lives&#8217; yet Venables &#8216;is the one who continues to be protected&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Venables and Robert Thompson were both just 10 years old when they killed little James, aged two, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>They were jailed but released with new identities in 2001.\u00a0Venables was recalled to prison in 2010 for possessing images of child abuse and again in 2017 for having a &#8216;paedophile manual&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>His most recent parole review was in September 2020 at which his application for parole was rejected.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/20\/07\/77773143-12769839-A_parole_hearing_to_decide_whether_one_of_the_killers_of_James_B-a-1_1700466659581.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A parole hearing to decide whether one of the killers of James Bulger, Jon Venables, was held in private to\u00a0prevent &#8216;disproportionate emotional stress&#8217;. Pictured: Venables in 1993<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/20\/07\/77773145-12769839-The_mother_of_murdered_James_Bulger_has_made_a_desperate_plea_to-a-2_1700466663546.jpg\" height=\"919\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Venables and Robert Thompson were both just 10 years old when they killed little James, aged two, in 1993. Pictured: James Bulger<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/20\/07\/78012329-12769839-image-a-3_1700466672032.jpg\" height=\"797\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>James&#8217; father asked why Venables was allowed to miss the hearing, and said it was part of his &#8216;healing that I get to tell him the way it was affected me and my family&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE &#8211;\u00a0James Bulger&#8217;s mother in desperate plea as her son&#8217;s killer Jon Venables makes bid for freedom<\/h3>\n<p>Mr Bulger\u00a0<span>told The Sun:\u00a0&#8216;How can these people even consider releasing Venables from jail if he isn&#8217;t made to face up to the reality of the vile crimes he has committed?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;How can they not insist he hears what I have to say? It&#8217;s part of my healing that I get to tell him the way it has affected me and my family.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s just so twisted that we are the ones hurting for the rest of our lives, but he is the one who continues to be protected.<\/p>\n<p>This comes after James&#8217;s mother Denise Fergus said she endured &#8216;three decades of hell&#8217; after Venables killed her son and urged the board to &#8216;keep people safe from this monster&#8217; by denying his parole.<\/p>\n<p>The 54-year-old told The Mirror: &#8216;If he goes on to commit more crimes after you release him, it will be on your shoulders. So, I&#8217;m just asking you to do the right thing.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The heartbroken mother argued that Venables &#8216;seems to have the upper hand&#8217; because of the protections he has been afforded, such as a private hearing and new identity if his release is granted.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Sometimes it feels like we are the criminals, not him, which is ridiculous,&#8217; she added.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/20\/07\/77773147-12769839-Denise_Fergus_said_she_endured_three_decades_of_hell_after_Venab-a-4_1700466687132.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Denise Fergus said she endured &#8216;three decades of hell&#8217; after Venables killed her son<\/p>\n<p>Ms Fergus said she was &#8216;anxious&#8217; ahead of the hearing because &#8216;fate is in the hands of parole board bosses&#8217;. She wants the parole board to &#8216;keep my son&#8217;s killer behind bars&#8217;, alleging that doing so is the &#8216;right decision&#8217; for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>She further argued that Venables has already been given &#8216;many chances&#8217; at redemption and has &#8216;blown them all&#8217;. She believes he &#8216;doesn&#8217;t care about anybody&#8217; and fears he will harm more people if he is released.<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE &#8211;\u00a0James Bulger killer Jon Venables skips parole hearing held in private to prevent &#8216;disproportionate emotional stress&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Ms Fergus reiterated that although she is &#8216;worried&#8217; about the hearing, she has &#8216;confidence&#8217; in the parole board and hopes the &#8216;bosses will see what this man is capable of, what he could inflict on society&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>If he is released, Venables will be protected by a lifelong anonymity order and will live under a new identity.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the ban on publicly identifying Venables, the private parole hearing also barred James&#8217;s relatives from attending.<\/p>\n<p>If he had attended, Venables could have faced a cross-examination by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who &#8211; like James&#8217;s parents &#8211; opposed the killer&#8217;s release.<\/p>\n<p>A decision on Venables&#8217; potential parole is expected within a week, although experts have warned that a decision could take several weeks, alleging one is normally given around two weeks after the oral hearing has finished.<\/p>\n<h3>James Bulger: How the murder of a toddler shocked the nation<\/h3>\n<p><font><span>The murder of James Bulger was a vicious crime that shocked Britain.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old on February 12, 1993, when they abducted the two-year-old before brutally torturing and killing him.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>The crime made the boys the youngest killers in modern English history.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>The duo snatched James from outside a butcher&#8217;s shop in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993, while his mother popped into a store for just a few seconds.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2018\/01\/23\/17\/1B97FD50000005DC-5303021-image-m-38_1516727483483.jpg\" height=\"776\" width=\"586\"><\/p>\n<p>Two-year-old James Bulger, pictured, was tortured and left for dead in February 1993<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2018\/01\/23\/17\/18487B0E000005DC-5303021-image-a-36_1516727469943.jpg\" height=\"343\" width=\"586\"><\/p>\n<p>He was abducted by 10 year olds Jon Venables, left, and Robert Thompson<\/p>\n<p><font><span>James&#8217; mutilated body was found on a railway line in Walton, Liverpool, two days later.\u00a0<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>The boys were playing truant from school, and CCTV showed them observing local children at the shopping centre, appearing to be &#8216;selecting a target&#8217;.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>They were then captured on camera taking the boy away at 3.42pm, before leading him on a two-and-a-half mile walk through Liverpool to the village of Walton.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>Venables and Thompson were seen by 38 people during the walk, and were twice challenged by bystanders because James was crying and had a bump on his forehead.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2018\/01\/23\/17\/088B90CB000005DC-5303021-CCTV_footage_pictured_captured_the_moment_Venables_and_Thompson_-a-31_1516727266399.jpg\" height=\"417\" width=\"586\"><\/p>\n<p>CCTV footage, pictured, captured the moment Venables and Thompson took James from the shopping centre in Bootle<\/p>\n<p><font><span>But they were able to convince the concerned people that James was their little brother and continued on their way.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>They led James to a railway line near the disused Walton &amp; Anfield Railway Station where they began torturing him &#8211; including throwing paint in his eye, pelting him with stones and bricks and dropping an iron bar on his head.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>After the body was found, police launched an appeal showing the low-resolution CCTV images of the boy.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>The breakthrough came when one woman recognised Venables, who she knew had skipped school with Thompson on that day, and contacted police.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>They were charged with murder on February 20 and forensic tests confirmed they had the same paint on their clothes as was found on James&#8217; body.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2016\/12\/01\/16\/00034A9300000C1D-3986526-The_death_of_James_shocked_the_nation_and_floral_tributes_were_l-m-6_1480609899409.jpg\" height=\"470\" width=\"624\"><\/p>\n<p>The death of James shocked the nation and floral tributes were left in their droves at his funeral, pictured<\/p>\n<p><font><span>Around 500 protesters turned out for their initial magistrates&#8217; court hearing due to the public outcry against the crime.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>The subsequent trial at Preston Crown Court and the boys were considered to be &#8216;mature enough&#8217; to know they were doing something &#8216;seriously wrong&#8217;.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>Venables and Thompson were found guilty on November 24, 1993, with the judge describing them as &#8216;cunning and wicked&#8217;.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>Reporting restrictions on their names were also lifted as it was considered in the public interest to do so.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font><span>Their parents were moved to different parts of the country and also received new identities due to death threats against them.\u00a0<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12769839\/James-bulger-father-slams-parole-board-jon-venables-misses-hearing-mental-health.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James Bulger&#8217;s father slams &#8216;twisted&#8217; parole board hearing after his son&#8217;s killer Jon Venables was allowed to miss it to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>James Bulger&amp;apos;s father slams parole board hearing Venables missed - News Need News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsneednews.com\/world-news\/james-bulgers-father-slams-parole-board-hearing-venables-missed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Bulger&amp;apos;s father slams parole board hearing Venables missed - News Need News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Bulger&#8217;s father slams &#8216;twisted&#8217; 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