Is a child murderer vulnerable?

How would you feel if someone was murdered in prison who it turned out was innocent ?

jingle, I'm with you there. We can't all agree (we won't all agree) and this is a really emotive subject.
The other day it there was a programme on Radio 4 about Jamie Bulger's murder. he would be nearly 23 now. His murderers have been protected very carefully for all of 20 years. They were no doubt damaged in some way to have carried out such a terrible crime, but Venables is still being protected after having been convicted of downloading child-pornography.

I totally agree with everything the original poster said. I hope he died a slow lingering painful death.

I cannot put into words what I would have liked to have happened to this person. He HAS got what he deserved.
Is a convicted person put in prison to be protected or for those outside to be protected from him/her (rhetorical question).

Pete- that isn't how a criminal justice system works - one set of criminals deciding on the appropriate punishment for another criminal. But you know that.....

Well said Deedaa. He got what he deserved.

I agree that the 'innocent victim' scenario is disgusting but I do think he should have been protected. I'd have been happy for him to spend his sentence in solitary confinement preferably in a very small cupboard cell.

It's one thing to go to reasonable lengths to protect someone who is going to be an obvious target in prison. It's quite another to parade him as an innocent victim when the innocent victim was the unfortunate child.

Well said, nanaej - my thoughts entirely.

for not or

I do not feel sorry or anyone serving time or an appalling crime such as this man committed. But I cannot condone vigilante killings, even for child murderers. He had been tried and was being punished by being in prison.
Once we feel pleased at another person's death /suffering we diminish our own humanity.
Once we think it is OK to bypass the law then society starts to crumble. The best way is to make sure we have good, strong laws that are used well to keep society as safe as possible.

Prisoners should be protected in a civilized society, however much we abhor thir crimes. Not mollycoddled - but protected.

Oh Deeda - I know why you are saying this - I read the list of her injuries in the paper as well but we simply can't condone prisoners behaving like this. Apart from the huge moral argument that entails, I also remember years ago with one of the NI miscarriages of justice cases when the father Gerry Donlan (??) was badly beaten up in prison (where he later died but not from his injuries) and he was completely innocent. Also, the woman who was imprisoned for supposedly killing two of her children and was later freed on appeal also suffered terribly in prison as a 'child killer'. But even if everyone in prison is guilty, the state has an absolute duty of care when it locks someone up - there's far too much of prison officers not only turning a blind eye but actually there have been cases where they have deliberately told other prisoners who to'go for'

Whilst I agree that what the prisoner did was appalling, we don't have the death penalty in this country and the prison service should have taken better care of him. One has to wonder what caused this man to behave in such a way to a defenceless child.