Determined to do right by James and trying to salvage something - anything - positive from her loss. Gillan, Audrey (17 December 1999). "Fear and trauma in courtroom". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013 . Retrieved 26 July 2010. a b Lusher, Adam (14 November 2018). "James Bulger documentary: Jon Venables so haunted by toddler victim he detected 'baby smell' on everything he wore, C5 show claims". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018 . Retrieved 15 November 2018.

In November2011, it was reported that officials had decided that Venables would stay in prison for the foreseeable future, as he would be likely to reveal his true identity if released. A Ministry of Justice spokesman declined to comment on the reports. [123] On 4July 2013, it was reported that the Parole Board for England and Wales had approved the release again of Venables. [124] [125] On 3September 2013, it was reported that Venables had been released from prison. [126] 2017 imprisonment [ edit ] It is very unusual to have children murdering children so the rarity factor was one thing,” he continued, attempting to explain the public fascination with the case, which endures 30 years on. Everybody tended to think Thompson was the ringleader, just by looking at him in court,” said the author Blake Morrison, who covered the trial and eventually wrote a book about it called As If. “He seemed much tougher. He stared out journalists, whereas Venables was very emotional and cried. He seemed the weaker. But that was just the perception in an adult court.

Duffy, Tom (12 October 2016). "Web troll who targeted James Bulger's mum has sentence reduced on appeal". The Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016 . Retrieved 26 October 2016– via liverpoolecho.co.uk.

Meanwhile, after Venables, Thompson, and Bulger had left the mall, the toddler began crying out for his mother. The older boys ignored him and continued down to a secluded area near a canal. The authorities having underestimated the public’s anger, relocates the trial to Preston. The trial begins on 1 November, at Preston Crown Court. A special platform is built to allow the defendants to see above the railings. Denise and Ralph Bulger announce they are expecting another baby, but Denise refuses to come to court. She’s vehement she won’t sit in the same vicinity as James’ killers. To this day there are still certain details of the case that she’s unaware of. Crucially the boys have now reached the age of 11 and are old enough to be convicted of murder. However, the jury needs to believe that both boys understand the seriousness of their crimes. To hide the identity of both boys they are referred to during the trial as Child A and Child B. She was concerned, but another woman standing nearby said she’d heard James laughing moments ago and so both assumed nothing was wrong. Later that night, one of the women saw the news that Bulger was missing. She phoned the police and expressed regret for not doing something.Demon ears". The Guardian. 21 March 1999. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017 . Retrieved 15 April 2023. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice spokesperson told ITV News: “The Deputy Prime Minister will do everything in his power to keep dangerous offenders behind bars and has set out plans to overhaul the parole process and put victims at the heart of the process.” His killers remain the youngest people to have stood trial for murder in the UK. The pair have new identities, but only Thompson has stayed out of custody since their release in 2001. But Blake Morrison, the author of As If: A Crime, a Trial, a Question of Childhood, a book on the trial, points out that “Venables had a temper and had been known to lose control and had done some pretty weird things…[and it was] just as likely that he was the instigator.” Young men, full of remorse". The Guardian. 27 October 2000. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017 . Retrieved 15 April 2023.