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Sunday 25 July 2010

Jon Venables.

Was Venables deliberately trying to get sent back to prison? Here's the thing: it's reported that he rings his probation officer to say he thinks his real identity has become known, and then invites the PO to his home and chooses the point at which the guy is going to arrive as just the time for some PC maintenance, which consists of an attempt to remove the computer's hard drive with a knife and a tin opener. A tin opener? Jeez, aside from the point that what's a couple of minute's work with a screwdriver is probably a half hour fail with a tin opener, talk about drawing attention to yourself.

Maybe the obvious answer is the correct one, which is that he's not only a nonce but a rather stupid one at that. But maybe he's one of these people who can't handle life outside and, having failed to get re-imprisoned for fighting and taking drugs decided to play a card that was absolutely guaranteed to send him back inside. That he's reported to be relieved to be in prison again makes me think this possibility can't be dismissed. So assuming that may be the case, and even if it isn't assuming instead that he's simply a drug snorting, fighty, child killer who likes kiddie porn, we could expect him to get a fairly hefty sentence, right? If the offences simply indicate what sort of character he is then society deserves to have him locked away for a decent amount of time, and if it's his way of trying to get back inside where he feels more comfortable it seems simpler to oblige him. Either way, a fairly long sentence makes sense, yes?

Two years.

/facepalm

3 comments:

JuliaM said...

To the list of assumptions we can add (assuming the 'Mail' story this morning is correct) pervert. They are reporting that the fight was over him using his mobile to film up women's skirts. Police apparantly found 1200 silich images...

I remember reading at the tome of the trial how the other (older?) lad was considered the ringleader, and Benables the easily-led henchmen. I don't know. I think he's the more damaged of the two.

Angry Exile said...

Again, could be taken at face value but could also be an attempt to get thrown back inside. I keep coming back to the point that he's reported as being relieved to be back in, not to mention the way in which he was caught being up there with painting 'Oi, pigs, I dare you to have a look at my computer' in 5 foot letters across his house. It really speaks of someone who can't cope with even the monitored freedom he'd had since release and who craved the structured life he'd had before. On the other hand it could be both, since he could just as easily have hit a copper and then put his hands behind his back and waited to be cuffed. But certainly his actions are those of someone who'd rather be inside than out, and I think the simplest thing to do is oblige him.

"I think he's the more damaged of the two."

He's had about a third of his life being a chaotic mess, about a third very disciplined and structured, and about a third being closely monitored semi-freedom. He's also, I'd very much hope, got the magnitude of his crime preying on his conscience. Yeah, he probably is damaged, and if the other one isn't I'd wonder if it's as much luck as anything else. But whatever he is and however he got this way I think everyone would agree that the answer is certainly not two years. Well, everyone except the judge who just gave him two years.

JuliaM said...

"But whatever he is and however he got this way I think everyone would agree that the answer is certainly not two years."

Blake Morrison's article in CiF today seems to suggest that he was doomed by...the actions of the authorities, natch.

Wow! I didn't see that one coming...

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