‘They committed an evil crime — but they’re paying the price’
Ex-Mountjoy governor John Lonergan fears there may be more young killers in the making, writes Donal Lynch
IN his 26 years as the governor of Mountjoy prison, John Lonergan saw it all in terms of crime in Ireland. But even he struggles to find parallels with the abject horror of the Ana Kriegel case.
“The closest I ever saw to it, even internationally, were the boys in Liverpool [the Jamie Bulger case]”, the Tipperary man said.
“There were Irish children in the 1980s who had committed very serious violence, including a rape, but there were never children who actually killed someone.”
During his long career, Lonergan became known for his compassionate views on prison reform and the factors that drive people to crime. He said it is no coincidence that Boy A and Boy B came along in the era of social media and violent pornography.
“I am shocked and appalled at the easy access children have to using social media. You wouldn’t give a child that age a gun or let them drive a car, and yet we will gladly give them a piece of technology that has the potential to cause just as much damage,” he said.
“I believe that the violence that young boys see on screens can be a contributory factor to them doing something like this. We know that boys are very slow to comprehend the consequences of their behaviour. Boy A and Boy B were children who would be classified as normal as far as society is concerned.”
Mr Lonergan, who will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Red Cross on Saturday, said Boy A and Boy B’s crimes can be seen in terms of a broader uptick in violent crime among young boys.
“There is a trend for carrying knives, for instance. I tell young people never, ever bring a weapon with you when you are socialising. Once someone carries a weapon, there is always a possibility that they will use it or that it will be used on them.”
Mr Lonergan said that when they turn 18, the boys are likely to be transferred to Wheatfield prison. In the meantime, they will probably enjoy liberal visiting hours — their parents will have fairly open access to them.
He said it wouldn’t be usual for them or their families to be given new identities, as happened in the Jamie Bulger case. “That could be a factor that arises as their release approaches. What will be more significant for them is that as they age, the enormity of what they did will really begin to hit home with them. Even if they were let out today they will have to face up to what they did and somehow to psychologically cope with that.”
What about the perception that juvenile detention is a glorified holiday camp?
“They will have access to television and education — they’re children, they’re 15, what do we want? They were irresponsible teenagers but we don’t want them to be irresponsible adults.”
Since the conclusion of the case, both boys have been described as “evil”, but Mr Lonergan takes issue with this.
“I think the sentences were just. They are personally responsible for what they did. I’m not sure about the evil bit though — they committed an evil crime but that is something different and they’re paying the price for that.
“The sentences show that if a boy or a girl over the age of 12 commits a crime like that, they will have to face the consequences. But we also have to stand back from the emotion of the crime and ask what factors contributed to this crime being committed.
“We have to ask is there a risk of crimes like this becoming more prevalent and I believe the answer is yes.”
The Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards Ball takes place on Saturday in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin. Tickets available at www.humanitarianawards.ie.