UK brothers, aged 11 and 12, sentenced for torture

[Lionheart]

Now this is grim... Dont read if you have a weak stomach.

UK brothers, aged 11 and 12, sentenced for torture


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100122/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_children_tortured



LONDON – A pair of British children who lured two other youngsters to a secluded area and subjected them to a horrifying catalog of near-fatal abuse were sentenced to at least five years in custody Friday.
The attackers, 10 and 11 at the time, were convicted of robbing, beating, and stabbing their victims with sticks and bricks. One child, 10, had a sink thrown onto his head, while his nephew, 9, was forced to eat nettles. The violence included sexual degradation, Justice Brian Keith said during the sentencing.
"What it amounted to was torture," Keith told the two boys at the end of their lengthy sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, in northern England.
The defendants were among the youngest people ever charged with such a serious crime in Britain, where the age of criminal responsibility is 10. Though initially charged with attempted murder, prosecutors accepted guilty pleas to a lesser charge, causing grievous bodily harm.
The attack sparked horrified headlines and a national debate about how children so young could inflict such violence. It stirred memories of the death of James Bulger, a 2-year-old abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool in 1993 by two 10-year-olds who punched him, beat him with bricks and hit him with an iron bar before leaving his body on a railroad track.
Neither the victims nor the children sentenced Friday may be named for legal reasons.
Detectives said the attackers showed no remorse when questioned by police. One allegedly told officers he did it because he was bored.
Sgt. Richard Vernon, who discovered the 11-year-old, said the victims had by now recovered physically.
The attackers suffered from a "toxic home life," according to Peter Kelson, who represents the eldest brother. Kelson said his client watched ultra-violent films like the "Saw" series, had access to pornographic DVDs, drank cider, had 10 cigarettes a day and smoked cannabis grown on his father's plot from the age of 9.
Many television bulletins lingered on the sign affixed to the outside of the family's home, which read: "BEWARE OF THE KIDS."




grim...

And TV and gore movies 'do not' effect kids? like heck it doesnt.....

[djscoo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kemper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Leopold

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Pomeroy

etc... (http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/etc...)

It's nothing new, and it isn't the fault of movies or video games.

[kilo delta]

And TV and gore movies 'do not' effect kids? like heck it doesnt.....

It may be a factor,yes...but I firmly believe that there are some folks who are just purely evil.
One of the main newspaper stories over here is about a bunch of kids that attacked an emanciated "pet" donkey recently. The donkey was dragged to a corner of a field,covered in straw and set alight.
I've said it before...but these "Characters" serve no purpose in a civilised society and deserve to be exterminated.

[OBIO]

Tragic indeed...but again, stop blaming it on graphic movies/video games, music/music videos. I grew up watching horror movies, listening to every kind of music there was to be had. I had a high powered rifle, a shot gun and a .45 piston in my bedroom...starting from the age of 12. I began shooting guns when I was just able to walk. What I also had were two parents who were more than willing to drop the hammer on me if I crossed the line..and none of that mamby pamby go sit in a corner time out crap....switches, electric cords, plastic race track sections, leather belts.

Everyone is so quick to jump on this "movies and video games and music turn our children into violent beasts"...but who asks....where were mom and dad, where was the discipline, were was the family dynamics.....blaming media exposure for the total lack of parental responsibility and the death of family structure is turning a blind eye to the real problems.

OBIO

[djscoo]

It's not violent video games, movies or TV, it's using technology as a babysitter. I'm only 18, but I caught the tail end of the nearly technology-less childhood. I had to go over to my friends house to play Nintendo 64, I wasn't allowed to watch half the channels on TV. I found other stuff to do, and in the process, got in heaps of trouble. I wasn't punished excessively, I got what I deserved.

Everyone talks about how they were beaten as a kid, and parents don't beat their kids today. That's probably because children today don't necessarily need to be beaten. How can you get in trouble sitting in front of a TV? When a child spends all their free time in an environment where they are essentially isolated, with little socialization from their parents, that'll mess with a kids head worse than anything. Throw in a mental illness, and you have a dangerous situation.

I think that the children should be held responsible for their own actions, but the parent/guardian needs to be charged with child neglect as well.

[Bjoern]

When parenting goes wrong. Holy effin' dogs of hell...

[brad kaste]

OBIO pretty much nailed it. When there's a lack of family values and morals , and non existent responsibility given to the youngsters,...this is what you can expect. How did I know?
I worked with 'at risk' teen age kids for thirty six years. The finger needs to be pointed what's going on at home,....NOT the schools or economic situations. Unfortunately, this tends to be overlooked today by today's society.

[Lewis-A2A]

indeed Brad, why blame the society we live which changes so slowly when theres an easy target like popular culture which changes year by year.


...how many of the older folk here heard there parents say such things about the music, activites they used to do as a youngster. We all hate it but we all turn into those 'when I was young....' sayers :kilroy:

I'm 26 and ive even found myself saying it to some of the kids I work with in school!! They can throw hissy fits if there iphones dont connect to the net, ...well son when I was your age mobile phones were the size of cars and the idea of games on a phone would get you locked away fro being a crazy man!' :engel016:

[TARPSBird]

When parenting goes wrong. Holy effin' dogs of hell...
Nicely put, Bjoern. Here's another wonderful example:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583632,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g4:r3:c0 .000000:b29976232:z0

[Matt Wynn]

I'LL be the first to admit i was a hellraiser, i remember as a kid breaking into buildings due to be demolished a few days later, school... hell what was that?! got suspended more times than i can remember, on one occasion for....wait for it..... fashioning a blow dart, see i had a hollow biro, no core or tip, took a needle from whatever that class was with needles, and some cotton wool, taped the cotton wool onto the needle, wet the tail, loaded it and fired, pin flew pin-first every time, took to blow darting those who annoyed me... aged 14 i was drinking with friends in the park, aged 15 i got into cigarettes...my parents weren't happy and i got hell, but where i am now... heck i have to thank my parents really, they told me to either go out and get a job or you'll end up 'in the nick', so i went to the Army careers office, best move of my life ever, parents are proud of me now :salute: i might be dumb at times but i sure as hell i'm glad where i am now thanks to and it boils down to 2 words... Discipline and Respect

i think parenting is a fine line these days, you either be too soft and your kids walk all over you, be to scrict and you can face jail, you have to toe the fine line in between, i believe movies/films etc... can put thoughts in heads, but all these thoughts need a catalyst to start them into action...

[Lionheart]

but all these thoughts need a catalyst to start them into action...

A very good point.

[Piglet]

Some of the "blame movies/TV/music" thing came from lawyer/activist/chattering class-types(follow the money) who see more profit/fame in going after whole industries than going after a few bad parents. Unless the bad brat is B. Gates Jr!

[Willy]

Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed. That includes their offspring.

[sandar]

The parents of the two boys convicted are now under investigation by the police with the aim of bringing charges against them. It is unclear what they might be charged with, most likely neglect.

Apart from the disgusting nature of the crimes, what irritates me are the comments made by some parties blames the social services of he local council and other bodies for not coordinating their information. To my mind the people responsible are the parents for not bringing up their kids properly and the children themselves for their actions. In court the children were said to have been brought up 'in a toxic environment'. Something poisoned them.

The other thing that completely p1sses me off is the political capital being made by opposition parties, blaming the government for the abuse. You would never guess that in the UK we will be having a general election in the next few months. (that statement is not a political statement before you think of removing it,it is simply my opinion)

[Blackbird686]

Tragic indeed...but again, stop blaming it on graphic movies/video games, music/music videos. I grew up watching horror movies, listening to every kind of music there was to be had. I had a high powered rifle, a shot gun and a .45 piston in my bedroom...starting from the age of 12. I began shooting guns when I was just able to walk. What I also had were two parents who were more than willing to drop the hammer on me if I crossed the line..and none of that mamby pamby go sit in a corner time out crap....switches, electric cords, plastic race track sections, leather belts.

Everyone is so quick to jump on this "movies and video games and music turn our children into violent beasts"...but who asks....where were mom and dad, where was the discipline, were was the family dynamics.....blaming media exposure for the total lack of parental responsibility and the death of family structure is turning a blind eye to the real problems.

OBIO

EXACTLY!!!! Well Spoken OBIO.:medals:

BB686:USA-flag:

[Bjoern]

Some people just shouldn't be allowed to breed. That includes their offspring.

An enchanting thought. Wish the world were like that.

Reinforced natural selection. No more superfluous warning signs and voilà...problem solved.