THE murder of James Bulger was evil, gruesome and horrific. We cannot begin to comprehend the level of pain and suffering endured by his family, nor their revilement for his killers.

In their situation, we would all probably want to see Robert Thompson and Jon Venables denied liberty forever.

But in our democratic society, we leave our criminal justice system to examine dispassionately and independently cases such as these.

While we may not always agree with the conclusions reached by the courts, we must abide by their decisions.

There can hardly be a issue more scrutinised by the judiciary, politicians, the media and the public at large than the release of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.

No one can accuse the system of coming to a hasty conclusion.

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were guilty of a heinous crime, one they must live with for the rest of their lives. So, too, must the Bulger family.

And we can see the apparent injustice in that, for the Bulgers, the suffering goes on, while Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are free to start new lives.

But the legal process has decided they have served their sentence and can return to society.

The only way they can do so is by being given complete anonymity and that must be respected by the public and the media.