JON VENABLES TO FACE PRIVATE PAROLE HEARING DESPITE PLEA FROM JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY

LIVERPOOL, England — Jon Venables, one of the two boys convicted of murdering 2-year-old James Bulger in 1993, will have his latest parole hearing held in private next month, despite a request from James’s family and several media organizations for the proceedings to be made public.

The Parole Board confirmed Monday, September 28, that an application for a public hearing had been rejected. The decision means Venables, now 44, will appear before a parole panel in a private oral hearing as he seeks consideration for release.

The decision has drawn renewed attention to the case more than three decades after James Bulger was abducted and killed.

PAROLE HEARING WILL REMAIN PRIVATE

Parole hearings in England and Wales are normally conducted in private. A hearing can be opened to the public when the Parole Board determines that doing so is in the interests of justice.

In Venables’ case, the Board concluded that the threshold for a public hearing had not been met.

John Saunders, speaking on behalf of the Parole Board, said a public hearing could make it extremely difficult for Venables to give evidence because he could be heard by people seeking information that could put his life at risk.

The official decision, published by the British government, states that a judicial Parole Board member acting on behalf of the Board Chair did not grant the application to make the hearing public.

JAMES BULGER’S FAMILY HAD ASKED FOR TRANSPARENCY

James’ mother, Denise Fergus, and her husband, Stuart, had argued that the hearing should be public.

In their application, they said greater transparency could improve public understanding of the parole process and help address misinformation surrounding the case. They also argued that the extraordinary history of the case, including Venables’ later offending and previous recalls to custody, justified greater public scrutiny.

Several media organizations also sought a public hearing.

Despite the ruling, James’ family has been granted permission to observe the proceedings remotely and to read victim-impact statements. Victims can now apply to observe private parole hearings under reforms introduced nationally in England and Wales.

THE 1993 MURDER OF JAMES BULGER

Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old when they abducted James Bulger from the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

The boys led the toddler away from the shopping center. James was later found dead, and both Venables and Thompson were convicted of his murder later that year.

Because they were children at the time of the offense, both were given lifelong anonymity orders after their release.

Venables was released on licence in July 2001. He was later recalled to prison in 2010 after indecent images of children were discovered on his computer.

He was released again in 2013 but was recalled to custody in 2017 after another offense involving indecent images of children.

PREVIOUS PAROLE BID WAS REJECTED

Venables’ previous parole application was rejected in 2023.

At that time, the Parole Board concluded that he continued to pose a risk of serious harm and that further offending remained a concern.

His latest case will now be considered at an oral hearing more than two years after that decision.

The hearing will determine whether he can be released under licence or should remain in custody, based on the evidence and risk assessment presented to the parole panel.

For James Bulger’s family, however, the latest development also renews a painful debate over how much of the parole process should be visible to the public.

The Parole Board has made clear that the hearing itself will remain private, while allowing victims to observe proceedings under the rules governing private parole hearings.