Sam Cahill EPQ

  What are morals compared to Ethics?  "Morals are the prevailing standards of behaviour that enable people to live co-operatively in groups" is the definition according to ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/morals (published 17/2/2017; viewed 2/9/2021). Morals are what society believes is right and acceptable, and to be living within these morals enables people to live as part of a large group. However, the website goes onto say that "morality is not fixed", so it can adapt and change over time as society does with it. Morals and society are intertwined more than ethics and society, as ethics will only affect decisions whereas morality allows people to feel a sense of belonging.  According to britanica.com/topics/ethics-philosophy (reviewed 22/8/2021; viewed 2/9/2021) ethics are what society considers "morally good and bad", note the morally part. For decisions to be ethical, they first need to be morally acceptable by society, so a decision that is cons...

What Skills have I developed?   I believe I have developed a number of skills so far over my EPQ. Most of these skills include analysing facts and evidence, and attempting to link them back to the case; a good example includes when I had researched the Nature v Nurture debate and applied to the case. What am I aiming at developing next? The next skills I am aiming to develop are my skills at evaluating contemporary sources and interpreting them and applying them to the case.  Where Next? From this I am going to look at the morals of the sentence given to both offenders, and looking at if it is morally acceptable to send children to prison and if it is morally acceptable to release them as soon as they did. 

  What Source Have I used? This is a supreme court law report on an appeal by the Home Secretary to increase the tariff from 10 to 15 years. I originally accessed this source on the 18th August 2021, through  House of Lords - Reg. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex parte V. and Reg. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex parte T. (parliament.uk)  (published 1997).  This source is extremely useful as it allows me to see why the appeal of the Home Secretary was dismissed, and the relevant legislation as to why their sentence was so low.  What have I learnt? Trial Judge- "The killing of James Bulger was an act of unparalleled evil and barbarity....you will be securely detained for very very many years until the Home Secretary is satisfied that you have matured and are fully rehabilitated and are no longer a threat to society" Trial Judge's Mandatory Life Sentence Case Trial: Judge's Report to the Home Secretary- "If the defendants had been...

  What source have I used? I have used the paper "Guilty and innocent suspects' strategies during interrogations", from Psychology Crime and Law (2007). This source is a research paper, using 3 professors form different universities. The professors are Hartwig, Granhag, Stromwell. This source is reliable because it talks through different projects that have gone on before, however they attempted to apply and prove these previous theories. I have also used the source of the short film Detainment. this was based off of the police interview tapes of Venables and Thompson. This source is reliable for the verbal signs that a guilty person might display, however not for the non-verbal due to the fact that we cannot access that footage due to the offenders being children. This source was written and directed by Vincent Lambe, who has done multiple films of a similar nature. He was not directly involved in the case, which reduces his reliability slightly.  How do guilty suspects ...

  What is the Nature v Nurture Debate? According to https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396607/obo-9780195396607-0163.xml (Published 30th September 2013, viewed 30th June 2021) the nature v nurture debate is evaluating the conditions regarding a defendant's reasoning/ ability to commit a crime. The Nature side focuses on how a defendant's behaviour or actions are a result of genes and DNA. The Nurture side focuses on how a defendant's behaviour or actions are a result of upbringing, the environment they live in and the morals they have been taught. The source I used is very reliable because it quotes theorists who used and have added to the nature v nurture debate; meaning that their information is up to date and accurate as many people have added to the debate.  How does this Apply to the case? Having looked at https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/born-evil-what-drove-james-bulgers-underage-killers (published 2021; viewed 4th Aug...

  What sources have I used?  For this, I have once again used the source  https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/james-bulger#The%20Trial , dated from 2018. This source is extremely reliable because it is updated when new material comes to light, meaning that the details  used are up to date and reliable. What have I learnt from the source? on 22nd February 1993, both boys appeared at South Sefton Magistrates Court in Bottle to face the charges. Both enter a not guilty  there is a crowd of 300 outside and they riot when the boys arrive and when they leave. There is a decoy van sent out, which begs the question of what the crowd would have done if they got hold of the defendants. As a safety measure, the trial is relocated to Preston, and on the 1st November 1993 the trial begins at Preston Crown Court.  Denise Bulger refuses to come to court, as she is adamant that she won't sit in the same vicinity as James' killer.  The boys ha...

  What source have I used? As with last weeks source, I have continued to use the website  https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/james-bulger/investigation , dated from 2018. This source is extremely valuable because it has been updated as new case facts have come to light, meaning their information is extremely valuable and reliable.  What have I learnt from the Source? On Thursday 18th Feb 1993, the police began to investigate Venables and Thompson Thompson was investigated at Walton Lane Police Station Venables was investigated at Liverpool's Lower Lane Police Station Both have blood, hair and fingernail samples taken Police are entering new territories with this as no-one has interviewed child murder suspects before. In order to ensure that their testimonies will stand up in court, it is critical that the boys understand the implications of telling lies and telling the truth; and the differences between right and wrong.  The police ask specific ques...