British child killer John Venables faces a two-day parole hearing that could see him released from prison before the end of the year, reports Breaking News.
The hearings are scheduled for November 14 and 15, and the decision on whether prisoners can be released is usually made within 14 days.
Venables and Robert Thompson, then just 10, tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger after kidnapping him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.
Both boys were sentenced to life in prison, but in 2001 they were released on license with a new identity.
Venables was jailed again in 2010 and 2017 for possessing indecent images of children and sentenced to 40 months, reports Breaking News.
In 2020, the Parole Board was asked to review his case once he became eligible, but the panel decided he should not be released.
A Parole Board spokesperson said: “An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Jon Venables and is scheduled to take place in November 2023. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims, reports Breaking News.
“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead-up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison, as well as the victim’s personal statements, are then given at the hearing. The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing, which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority,” the spokesperson added, reports Breaking News.
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