Evil Monsters/Damaged Children - Life and Death in the World of Pain

I read this not knowing much about the Mary Bell case and, like many I'm sure, wondering what it is that makes kids do this kind of thing. That the two boys were in foster care meant that there was some kind of back story and as yet we don't know what it is but for all of us who jump for the 'evil monsters' label this thought provoking examination of some of the past's 'children who kill' stories is a must read.

I was horrified and sometimes I think I'm living in a rose-tinted separate reality far from the horror film sets these kids have had to survive in. That they survive at all is nothing short of a miracle, a testament to the human spirit. That they're severely damaged by the levels of abuse they have to suffer is unsurprising. The people who work to repair these damaged small humans deserve all our admiration and support.