The mother of James Bulger is terrified after her son’s killer has been granted a parole hearing.
Denise Fergus believes Jon Venables still belongs behind bars and the possibility of his parole is ‘frightening’.
“Jon Venables is still one of the biggest dangers to this country. I have no doubt he will offend again if released. Hearing the news about my son’s killer’s parole is still shocking to me,” she said The Mirror.
Advert
“He should never be allowed back in our streets and the prospect that could happen is obviously frightening.”
At just 10 years old, Venables and his school friend Robert Thompson were was charged for the murder of the two-year-old.
The two boys had snatched the toddler at a shopping centre in Merseyside in 1993 after his mother momentarily took her eyes off her son.
His body was found two days later on a railway four kilometres away in Walton, Liverpool.
Advert
Subsequently, both minors were sentenced to indefinite detention following a trial; however, Venables was released in 2001.
Venables landed back in prison in 2010 and again in 2017 for possessing indecent images of children.
Denise and James’s dad, Ralph Bulger, will give written statements at the parole hearing, as he too, believes Venables still poses a danger to society.
“He will cause another family heartbreak like ours. All we can do is wait and hope the parole board realise what we know, which is that Venables should never walk free ever again,” he told The Mirror.
Advert
The Parole Board confirmed the hearing would take place on November 14.
A three-day panel will deliberate whether Venables, who has a new identity, is ready to be set free.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority,” a spokesperson said, as per Sky News.
They added that the panel would ‘carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change’.
"Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing,” they continued.
Advert
"The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing, which often lasts a full day or more."
Charisa Bossinakis