Matt’s Crow Country

THE case of Jon Venables is awful on so many levels.

Venables who, with Robert Thompson, was found guilty of murdering toddler James Bulger in 1993, was jailed again last week for child porn offences.

This has, of course, led to much questioning of the probation service, which has supposedly been keeping an eye on him since he was released from prison in 2001.

No one could argue the fact that Venables has done some truly horrific things, but there are a couple of points I’d like to make.

Firstly, I totally disagree with those who think this case indicates that we need a tougher system of sentencing in this country.

Just because this man has abused the second chance he has been given after serving his original sentence, doesn’t mean that others should not be afforded the same opportunity to rebuild their lives in the community.

Locking people up and throwing away the key is rarely the answer.

Secondly, I find some of the media coverage afforded to cases like Venables’ to be distasteful in the extreme.

It gives murderers what is akin to celebrity status just to sate the public’s appetite for gore.

Many people are quick to (rightly) condemn Venables, but will then be quite happy to spend their time reading about every little detail of the case in ghoulish fashion.

There’s something quite hypocritical about that if you ask me.

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THE rule that bans Formula One teams from issuing team orders is ridiculous.

This weekend Ferrari were fined $100,000 for ordering Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso (pictured) pass him and win the German Grand Prix.

I can see why people consider this unsporting, but on the other hand what is the point of having a team sport if they can’t use team tactics?

I agree with former team owner Eddie Jordan, who this week called for the ban to be removed. Hopefully a change can be made before next season starts.

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THEY say all good things must come to an end, and today this is the case for Matt’s Crow Country.

Some might argue about the “good” part of course, but what is definitely true is that I am leaving The Crow this week and handing columnist duties to our new reporter Joe Tyler.

I have very much enjoyed the last three and a bit years, and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me out during that time, particularly all our regular contributors, without whom The Crow would not be such an integral part of the community.

I look forward to keeping up to date with all the news from Crow Country from a reader’s perspective!