Robert Thompson, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, has claimed that committing the murder led to a 'better life' in prison, according to a statement he made to the parole board in 2001. The statement, obtained for a Channel 5 documentary, reveals Thompson said he had become 'a better person' behind bars and was 'desperately sorry' for the killing.
Thompson, now 36, was 10 years old when he and Jon Venables abducted James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993. They tortured and killed the toddler, leaving his body on a railway line. In November that year, they became the youngest children ever convicted of murder in England.
In his statement, Thompson said: 'I do feel aware that I am now a better person and have had a better life and a better education than if I had not committed the murder. There is obviously an irony to this but it is part of my remorseful feelings as well.' He also detailed his traumatic childhood, saying he was 'completely out of control' at the time of the crime.
Thompson and Venables were released in 2001 with new identities under licence. Venables was later jailed in 2010 and again earlier this year for possessing child abuse images. The parole board declined to comment on Thompson's statement.
