In a message dated 28/07/01 12:15:51 GMT Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
<< I have followed the Jamie Bulger case in some depth,
> if only to try and
> understand what would compel two 11-year-olds to
> torture and kill a toddler.
> I've found an extremely good write-up of the entire
> case, including the
> backgrounds of each of the boys (one of them had a
> pretty disturbing
> history) at this site:
>
> http://www.crimelibrary.com/classics3/bulger/
> >>
There is an excellent book on this subject too: "As If", by Blake Morrison.
He was detailed to cover the trial of Venables and Thompson, and wrote a very
thought-provoking book about it, highly recommended. Amongst many other
distortions he highlights, he points out that even the victim's name was
distorted by the press: his family called him James, whereas the diminutive
"Jamie" was a tabloid invention, in its small way robbing that poor little
boy of just one more piece of his dignity in an attempt to sentimentalise a
story which was horrifying enough on its own merits.
Azeem
