Britain Sets Killers of Toddler Free

June 22 -- Two schoolboys who battered a toddler before killing him in a murder case that shook Britain will be released after serving less than nine years of their sentence.

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, now aged 18, were just 10 years old when they abducted 2-year-old James Bulger in February 1993 from a Liverpool mall before torturing him, beating him to death and dumping his body on a railway line.

Following the national revulsion the murder generated, the teens will be given new identities, which a British judge has barred the media from disclosing if they were to learn details of their new lives.

Announcing the decision to release the pair in a written statement to Parliament today, Home Secretary David Blunkett said the parole board had informed him of the decision, "subject to conditions, to direct the release ... of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables."

For the rest of their lives, the two teens will be "subject to strict license conditions and liable to immediate recall if there is any concern at any time about their risk," Blunkett's statement said.

Venables' parole hearing took place at a secret location on Monday and Tuesday, followed by Thompson's two-day appearance at a different venue.

Thompson and Venables were sent to secure units in November 1993 after they were found guilty of torturing and murdering James.

It was unclear whether or not the pair have yet been released.

'I Just Want Justice'

The decision to release the two teens, who will both turn 19 in August, came as a bitter blow to Bulger's family, who have maintained the youths were notorious killers who had not been punished sufficiently.

"I do not want revenge, I just want justice," said James' mother, Denise Fergus, in a statement released this week.

"I believe the two killers should go to a young offenders' institution for at least three or fours years, so they will have experienced some punishment for what they did," the statement said.

The boys were initially given an eight-year prison sentence, which was later increased to 15 years by then-Home Secretary Michael Howard.