Some thoughts on the Jon Venables brouhaha.

Bar self interest, there was absolutely no need for the media to blow up in such a big way the Department of Justice decision to retract Jon Venables parole license. By the time the Tabloids got wind of the story, Venables was already in jail having had his license revoked. He was not in a position to harm anyone, accept himself that is, even if he wanted to, which I am yet to be convinced of. 

Under the law, on being returned to jail, he has to go before a board within 28 days, and if the authorities decided he posed a threat to himself or others they will withdraw his license; and he will remain in prison until the parole board decide he is fit to be released. If he has committed any offenses whilst out on parole, it will be for the Justice Ministry/DPP to decide whether it is in the public interest to bring him before the courts.

Myself I doubt it would be in the public interest as having been returned to prison he would be serving the life sentence he was originally sentence to. 

I know someone who had been convicted of an extremely serious crime and after being paroled had their license revoked, and it seems to me this procedure is not taken lightly but is dealt with in a very serious manner. Like Jon Venables, this chap had also been jailed for murder at a young age, although not as young as Venables. When he was finally released things went well for a while, but he then started going off the rails, taking drugs, drinking alcohol heavily and loosing control. 

During this period I had a number of conversations with him, and to be fair he was a likable lad, however two things struck me, prison had taken its toll on him and mentally he seemed to have become stuck in his teens and it came as no surprise when I later heard his license had finally been revoked. 

Despite when he was originally sentenced to life, being given a tariff of 11 years, he eventually went on to serve almost 25 years in prison, I last saw him a couple of years ago, prematurely aged, staggering homewards, with a carryout under his arm. What ever I may think about the awfulness of the crime he committed, there is no doubt in my mind he pain in-kind and some.

What we should try to take into account when people enter an institution such as a prison as a child or teenager, (Or to a lesser extent the armed forces. *) they are no longer part of the world which enables them to develop as a rounded human being. Their life becomes rigidly controlled and hierarchal and at times it can be violent. The basic necessities of life, water, food, shelter and clothing are provided, whilst the emotional support many of us take for granted is often excluded and replaced by authoritarian control.

This cannot but have a negligent effect on their emotional development, courses in anger management, etc, are worthwhile and necessary, but they cannot supplement for real life experiences and until we can come up with something that does; or find a better way to deal with the full impact of institutional depravation, despite the best of intentions some of the people who enter the prison system as damaged good are still likely to return to freedom in a similar state.

Fortunately despite the media brouhaha no evidence has yet emerged Jon Venables has actually harmed another human, his main anger seems to be directed inwardly, by taking illicit drugs, telling strangers his real name, and by breaking the terms of his parole. This is hardly surprising, for if it is true, as the Parole Board who released him seemed to believe, Venables has accepted his responsibility for the ghastly crime he committed when a child, can you imagine what it must be like to carry the weight of that around with you daily. Is it really so surprising he has gone off the rails and has tried to block out his former self with alcohol and narcotics?

* The percentage of the UK prison population who have served in the armed forces is offensively high, as to are the numbers who end up as rough sleepers.