Brianna Ghey

I don’t see why anyone should be protected. If the fallout is such that their families are affected do you suppose they cared about that any more than they cared about taking someone’s life?

I feel for the killers’ families. They have to live with the knowledge, not just of what their children did, but also that they had a list of 5 potential victims. That will be no comfort to them or to Brianna’s family.

Naming will make it difficult for the families, but the killers didn’t consider that.

My thoughts are with Brianna’s family.

They tried to make out it was nothing to do with Brianna being transgender. Whatever, violence towards another person, especially culminating in murder as in this case is totally wrong. The perpetrators should be named. They have forfeited any rights not to be.

People living in the area and their school friends would all know who they were so it would be impossible to keep their identities secret. I see no reason why they should be protected.

Their names would be released next year anyway, when they reached 18. I see no problem in the names being released early in that situation.
The crime is absolutely horrific but they are likely to get a lesser term than an adult. They should never be released.

I believe the Judge was right to identify them. It’s hard for their families but my thoughts are with Brianna’s family

Det Ch Supt Evans was asked what he believed Ratcliffe and Jenkinson’s motive was. “Fun,” he suspected, could be the word. “I think they killed her because they wanted to prove that they could.”

I see no reason not to name them either. And once they have been sentenced, let us not focus on them - but on Brianna, who did nothing to deserve the fate meted out to her by that pair.

I don't see how naming them is going to help Brianna's family.

Nothing can help them Ilovecheese. But if naming them adds to their punishment I fully support it.

Ilovecheese

I don't see how naming them is going to help Brianna's family.

Do you think they should not have been named then?

Ilovecheese

I don't see how naming them is going to help Brianna's family.

Nor do I. I'm not sure what I think, really. They don't look like children, but they were 15, which is legally underage, so they shouldn't be treated as adults. Otherwise I have no sympathy with them. The law should be fair to children by recognising that they are less capable of making rational decisions than adults, and this should be applied, but I wouldn't want to see any special leniency in this case.

Whether that means they should be named or not, I don't know. I can't see it making much difference to them either way - they can change their names anyway, and it is likely to be a long time before they will be out in the world. Their families are likely to be suffering horribly (imagine if your child had done something like this), so adding to their misery isn't going to achieve a thing other than some sort of vicarious revenge, which seems to me pointless.

Brianna's family won't gain anything from their being named, unless there is something I am missing, although I do think that they need to be told who murdered their child, to help towards some sort of closure. Their grief must be all-consuming, and I doubt that having the names in the public domain will make a dent in that.

The only real point to naming them that I can think of is if there is anyone else who might be suspected and would be cleared if these people are named. I don't believe that is the case though.

I am very ambivalent about it. These two young people who will have siblings, possibly younger, who will have always to live with the knowledge of what their siblings did and know that they are known locally

But now the names are public the hunting season has started and they will be assailed on social media, with personal abuse, filth and threats agains the parents and siblings. There may be people finding out where they live and stalking them or posting threats through their door. People could hang around their schools, and I doubt the children will be able to walk home from school safely alone.

On the other hand, these young people committed a heinous crime for the fn of it and one of them, at least, enjoyed it and is looking for public fame and notoriety - actually. That is an argument for not releasing their names.

I think we can assume that they are well known locally. If they were in my family I think I’d have to move and I do have sympathy with the family of these two “children”. However. They do need to be (and have been named). What they did was heinous, it was planned and done for fun or to prove they could. They are dangerous individuals who knew what they were doing. I hope they rot in jail, I can’t see how such people could ever be safe in public.

I don't know what reason they had for releasing the names of these two young people but their families will be deemed guilty by association and will suffer.
A family I know of had to change their name and move to another town after their 18 year old son killed someone by drunk driving. He was charged but their lives were a living hell as they were subjected to abuse every time they went out. Even the 8 year old was punched and spat on.
I just wonder if it was really necessary to release the names.

AGAA4

I don't know what reason they had for releasing the names of these two young people but their families will be deemed guilty by association and will suffer.
A family I know of had to change their name and move to another town after their 18 year old son killed someone by drunk driving. He was charged but their lives were a living hell as they were subjected to abuse every time they went out. Even the 8 year old was punched and spat on.
I just wonder if it was really necessary to release the names.

You could argue the same about any convicted person though. One of the cornerstones of our court system is that justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done.

The parents of both killers won’t give a toss about being recognised. Families like this see it as a badge of honour.

They made the deliberate decision to murder another teenager and I see no reason for them to be protected in any way whatsoever. Throw the book at them without trying to make excuses for what they did.

Actually it’s been reported that the killers were brought up in two-parent stable families.

Maybe we will never know the reason why this occurred. Autism. Neurodivergence as it’s now called? Being ‘other’ and teenage hormones? Just plain curiosity on the dark web that fuelled evil intent?

What a truly horrible thing to say, petra. I have reported it.

petra

The parents of both killers won’t give a toss about being recognised. Families like this see it as a badge of honour.

How can you possibly know that they don't care. They may and should be thoroughly ashamed and horrified by what their child has done.

That’s truly awful Petra ….parents like what ? Do you know them ? Of course people from all walks of life can ‘go wrong’ rich, poor, intelligent or not
I think they will be well know in their area and school etc so there’s not much point in withholding their names, they didn’t withhold Jamie Bulgers killers names did they ?

AGAA4

petra

The parents of both killers won’t give a toss about being recognised. Families like this see it as a badge of honour.

How can you possibly know that they don't care. They may and should be thoroughly ashamed and horrified by what their child has done.

Exactly. Murders are committed by people from all backgrounds, all walks of life.

Can someone who thinks that they should be named explain why they think that, please? Not just that they deserve it, but specifically what it is that they think will be gained? I still don't really know what I think.