Sam Cahill EPQ

  What have I learnt? I first learnt about the facts of the case and how both boys behaved in the interviews. This behaviour became extremely useful when then evaluating how guilty and innocent suspects behaved in interviews. I then looked at the trial of the offenders; however this was linked to the facts of the case. After this, I looked at the judicial reports over the constant variation in the sentence of both offenders. This provided me with the first thought that the sentence wasn't just and fair as the Home Secretary overstepped his jurisdiction by altering the sentence.                                                                                                      ...

 What do I mean by an outlying factor? An outlying factor is something that is not directly related to the points and facts of the case. This can take the form of politics, public opinion and the role of the media. As these are not legal factors, they shouldn't have made a large difference in the way the sentence was given. I am aiming to decide if they did make a difference in the overall sentence and why.  Media: "UK media coverage of the trial deeply affected public opinion not just about the perpetrators of the crime but also about juvenile criminals and in fact all children." "On the 25 November 1993, the day after the judgement, the Daily Star...ran the photos of the boys with the headline "How do you feel now you little bastards?" ".  The media launched a campaign to allow the anonymity of the 2 offenders to be released on conviction.  "The press were further outraged by the conditions in which the boys would live while at the Secure Traini...

  Where have I gotten to? From my original list of the order in which I will conduct my research, I have so far completed:  Case facts   the law relating to the case  The social factors of Venables and Thompson (I covered this in my nature v nurture debate)  If the sentence given was ethical What Have I missed off/ not completed yet? Behaviour of people in interviews and how Venables and Thompson are similar/ different to it.  If any outlying factors such as media and politics affected the sentence given If those factors did  affect the sentence given What occurred post sentence Plan and write dissertation and present findings to audience.  From this list, I have left out the question on if the law was ethical or not. This is because I believe that the question was not relevant to the overall course that my project will follow.  Where next? From this, I will answer each of the questions in order, and aim to complete all my research by Oc...

  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 ...