The Death of James Bulger

On February 12, 1993, 2-year-old James Bulger was abducted from the New Strand Shopping Center in Liverpool, England by two 10-year-old boys, Robert  Thompson and Jon Venables. His body was found near a railroad track by a group of children. Thompson and Venables were charged on 20 February 1993 with abduction and murder. They were found guilty on 24 November, making them the youngest convicted murderers in modern British history. They were sentenced to indefinite detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, and remained in custody until a Parole Board decision in June 2001 recommended their release on a lifelong licence aged 18.Venables was sent to prison in 2010 for breaching the terms of his licence, was released on parole again in 2013, and in November 2017 was again sent to prison for possessing child  abuse images on his computer.  The Bulger case has prompted widespread debate about how to handle young offenders when they are sentenced or released from custody.