Blame Who?

Last week three teenagers hit the headlines when they were sentenced for the killing of a homeless man in Liverpool. The views wereunited in their condemnation of the boys, and quite rightly so, but the story is not simply about the act itself. There are far wider implications.

The teens have been sentenced for killing a homeless man last year making them younger still. Connor Doran, age 17, brother Brandon Doran, age 14, and Simon Evans, age 14, were accused of kicking and beating the man to death on a dare. Connor, who was labeled as ring-leader and sentenced to a minimum of 12 years. Evans was sentenced to eight years. Brandon, who acted as lookout, was sentenced to a minimum of six years. Kevin Bennett, age 53, was sleeping outside the back of a grocery store when the boys attacked him. Connor initiated the attack by suggesting Evans did not have the nerve to 'do him in'. Evans admitted to a friend he 'started kicking him' and Brandon watched as his brother and Evans continued punching and kicking the man. The man was not found until the next morning and was taken to hospital with a collapsed lung, shattered eye socket, and broken ribs. He eventually died of multiple organ failure due to blood poisoning. All three teens plead not guilty of killing the homeless man. Judge Clement Goldstone QC found all three boys guilty.

Linda Duran, mother of Connor and Brandon, has been sentenced to 30 months for providing her sons with a false alibi.


A mother protecting her young no matter what? Possibly, but it was also revealed her eldest son (23) was serving a life sentence for murder. The boys were given sentences between 6 and 12 years, why was the mother only given a year and a half? Families will have a black sheep and often for no tangible reason, but all three in prison for murder. So what about the kids? Did the 17 year old feel the need to be tough or the man of the house after his older brother got life. Maybe he is just plain nasty. The biggest concern is the younger two. Peer pressure will make normally sensible kids do insane things. No peer-pressure is stronger than when it is from an older boy. It would be wise of parents of teens to check out the age group they are hanging around with,

Looking at the boys it is hard for me to imagine them as murderers. I think the sentences they received were appropriate but I think the crime was manslaughter. Perhaps I'm being naive in thinking there was no intent to kill. People will argue 'do him in' meant kill but I've heard countless references of somebody 'doing someone in' after winning a fight. Then others will cite Jon Venables and Robert Thompson who killed toddler Jamie Bulger. There was little doubt they meant to kill him, but they were a lot younger, possibly borderline 'age of responsibility'. The age of responsibility is in itself a nonsense because it is down to the individual, but overall is getting younger.

So then intelligent people will ask what causes things like this to happen. Most people seem to have lost the ability to think for themselves and adopt the government's simplistic view....... scum! Some areas are little more than ghettos and not places to be after dark. After a less than shrewd property deal I found myself living in such an area. One of the first things I found out was the vast majority were good people trapped in bad situations, through no fault of their own.

Our once proud industries have all been sold or closed down in the name of profiteering. It made good economic sense, they were running at a loss. Did it? What was the alternative, unemployment, benefit hand-outs, rise in crime, more policing, over-crowding in jails, etc. So was the loss worth it. Shouldn't the industries have been subsidised ultimately reducing costs in other areas.

These 'ghettos' vary. Some are estates, others are urban streets where owners have lost their homes after losing work and the ability pay the mortgage that Maggie 'blessed' them with. Now they are owned by housing corporations and property developers profiting from those on benefits with nowhere else to go. Kids are drawn into territorial gangs from an early age and there is always the need to show how tough you are or be swallowed up. 

Before educating the children, educate the parents. Before that can happen successfully we need a government who understand the issues and are prepared to hit the pockets of the wealthy to provide a better future for the masses. It will actually benefit the wealthy when there is a stable economy and low crime rate.

So who to blame? All of the above.

Why was the man homeless when so many houses are empty and boarded up? What made Doran such a bad mother? There can be little doubt she 'created the monsters'. The problem is we are into the second and third generation deprivation now. Some areas have known nothing else except maybe the old-timers reminiscing what a wonderful neighbourhood it used to be. Who made that happen?

I know where my finger is pointing!

Governments aside there is an escalating problem. It is more noticeable when it is kids.... more shocking, but why should we be shocked given the nature of headlines. Football 'fans' from Millwall and Newcastle hit the national news. Kids up and down the country watched as grown men brawled and attacked the police. Don't get me started on de-sensitising through video games where the 'hero' goes round smashing the heads of prostitutes with a baseball bat.

What would have happened if someone had been kicked to death then? It would probably have been sensationalised by the perpetrators. The problem is the same with football as it is with the streets. It only takes a few bad apples to spoil the whole barrel. The meek shall inherit the Earth has a hollow ring to it, people can't wait that long, it's been 2000 years for Christ's sake! For now it is the mean and the strong that rule the streets, with the lure of money procured through violence, drugs and prostitution. The government is so intent on taking away the supply when they should instead take away the demand. The vast majority of people don't want to be bad or break the law but for some there is little choice.

Damage done at childhood can leave a legacy for many years, sometimes for life. For those affected by any number of issues (physical/emotional/sexual abuse, domestic violence, bullying, etc.) the healing process can be very slow. It is too easy to look at the world through hate filled eyes and go into self-destruct. With girls these are the type who will fall pregnant at a young age, is these boys' mother a legacy of that?

Something needs to be done because the problems will continue to grow and something has to give. Let's face it, Brits aren't noted for their ability to roll over.