James Bulger: The New Revelations

This documentary was screened for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the conviction of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables for one of the most heinous murders in English criminal history. It was not the way the poor two year old died that earns that title, gruesome and horrific that it was. There have been many similarly gruesome or even worse murders. It was the fact that his killers were both ten years old.

UK viewers will be aware of and at least partially familiar with this case, whatever their ages, and the crime buffs among them will realise the title promises a lot more than it delivers. True, we do hear from Thompson, but his words from 2001 are spoken by someone else. We hear from a lot of people herein, including some new ones, but was it really necessary to give so much space to the moronic David James Smith? Yes, they were evil, and clearly Venables still is. We all have choices in this life, and we have to live with their consequences, even ten year olds.