Public `better protected` if Thompson and Venables released under supervision

The public will be better protected by releasing Robert Thompson
and Jon Venables under supervision than moving them to prison,
rehabilitation charity Nacro said.

Thompson and Venables, who killed two-year-old James Bulger in
1993, when the pair were both 10-years old, have been held in
separate secure units for eight years. Although the parole board
decided to release them, they will remain on life licence.

Paul Cavadino, director of policy for Nacro, said that moving
them into the prison system could undo much of the treatment and
rehabilitation they have received: “No good can come of the
incessant demand to extract the last ounce of punishment out of two
boys who committed a terrible crime when they were seriously
disturbed children.

“Too many people have confused the need for justice with the
anger and distress that many understandably feel about their
crime.”