Jon Venables: The Little Lord Fauntleroy of crime
IF EVER efforts were made to reform a wrongdoer, it is safe to assume they were made with Jon Venables.
Much was in his favour as far as potential for reform was concerned, including his young age and the amount of money authorities were prepared to spend on him, given his notoriety.
He was, in effect, the Little Lord Fauntleroy of crime. It is not that the wrong efforts were made. He turned out badly.
This should surprise nobody, except those with the sentimental idea that everyone is good, if treated well enough. Probation officers and others, however, persistently refused to see the writing on Venables’s wall. They explained away the obvious signs of his continuing bad character.
Just a little more kindness, understanding. What contempt he must have felt!
Thus sentimentality, a refusal to face unpleasant realities, causes crime.
Theodore Dalrymple is author of Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality.