British child welfare activists have asked the attorney general to double the sentence of the two brothers convicted in the Edlington torture case, which was one of a number of incidents that have raised serious concerns about social and moral decay in the UK.

The 11- and 10-year-old brothers, whose names have not been disclosed for legal reasons, were handed down an indeterminate sentence Friday for a prolonged “sadistic” attack on two innocent children in Edlington, near Doncaster, last April.

The horrific description of the case was published in a detailed report on the Persian service of BBC entitled “Where is the broken society in Britain leading to?”

According to the report, the two will face a minimum of five years in detention. However, they may never be released since they are regarded as a high risk to the public. One is believed to be in danger of becoming a psychopath.

One of the victims of the Edlington attack nearly died during the incident, but the two brothers have shown no remorse for what they did.

The savagery of the attack, which has been described as unprecedented in British history, has caused a great deal of public outrage.

Before handing down their sentences, the judge said that the attack was carried out with “chilling detachment” by the boys, whose tools of choice were “aggression, extreme violence and sexual degradation.”

The pair had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to charges of committing intentional grievous bodily harm, robbery, and forcing a child to engage in a sexual act.

The court heard how they came across their two young victims at a playground and lured them to a secluded area with the promise of showing them a dead fox.

Once there, the brothers subjected them to a vicious 90-minute attack using branches, sharpened sticks, barbed wire, broken glass, rocks, and pieces of metal.

Both victims were repeatedly hit with tree branches and fists as they lay cowering on the ground, the court heard. Their faces were stamped on and heavy rocks were dropped on their heads.

At one point, the battered and bloodied victims were forced to take off their clothes and perform sexual acts together.

One of the victims eventually sustained a deep wound to his arm, into which a lit cigarette was placed by the older brother. When the terrified nine-year-old victim asked to use the toilet, he was forced to urinate on his friend’s face.

The court heard that as the attack reached its climax, the younger victim was ordered to kill himself. He then placed a stick into his own mouth and shoved it into his throat.

The older victim was left for dead after a piece of a broken sink was dropped on his head. He could not be interviewed by police until 10 days after the assault due to the seriousness of his injuries.

According to the graphic BBC report, the court also heard details of a strikingly similar attack carried out by the brothers on a choirboy in Edlington a week earlier.

The court was told how he too was lured to a secluded spot, this time with the promise of observing a “massive toad,” and how he was beaten and stamped on. The brothers have pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing physical harm over the incident.

On that occasion, their 11-year-old victim was apparently saved from an even worse fate by the intervention of a passerby. However, the next time the two chose a far more secluded location for their plans.

A brief section of video footage shot by the older brother on a mobile phone stolen from the victims was a key part of the prosecution’s evidence.

The Doncaster Children’s Safeguarding Board, which conducted an independent investigation into the case, has spelled out a long list of failings by the South Yorkshire town’s social services. However, only a summary of their findings has been released.

Although a serious case review found that agencies missed 31 opportunities to take action that would have prevented the crime, only one member of the staff has faced any disciplinary action.

The parents of the two assailants, whose “toxic” upbringing turned them into individuals who could commit such vicious acts, will also face prosecution for child neglect and abuse, police announced on Friday night.

The BBC report contends that the Edlington brothers’ case has raised debates over the status of families and childcare in Britain.

David Cameron used the case to back his contention that Britain is in danger of becoming an irresponsible society.

Within an hour after the court sentences were issued, the Tory leader claimed that the case was symptomatic of the levels of social breakdown.

Meanwhile, Labour MPs have criticized Cameron for linking the Edlington case to his campaign claim that Britain is a “broken” society.

Labour insists that, based on the statistics, crime rates are dropping in the country.

But every time there is a high-profile case, such as the shooting of a 10-year-old boy called Reece in Manchester, the murder of Jamie Bulger by two 10-year-olds, or the Baby Peter torture killing, political debates resume.

Constance Briscoe, who began working as a cleaner and dressmaker and went on to study law, becoming one of Britain’s few Black judges, accuses the politicians of playing around with such issues.

She argues that British politicians do not recognize the problem, stressing that there are currently families in Britain which have not had an employed member in the past three generations.

Justice Briscoe believes that the political parties use these cases to undermine their rivals but never really do anything to address the heart of the problem.

The BBC report pointed out that crime rates vary in different British cities. For example, in the city of Manchester alone, seven armed assaults take place per day. In 1995, there were 2,743 armed assaults that were recorded by the police. That figure, however, reached 7,298 between 1995 and 1996.

Stabbing crimes, mostly common among teenagers, are a main problem in Britain, causing serious concern among British citizens.

Two thirds of the British people feel insecure and endangered, according to social statistics, the report said.

Sir Michael Caine, a well-known British actor who grew up poor, has warned about the ongoing situation and the promotion of a lazy society with the help of the government.

“It seems that no one seeks to find a solution… We have some 350,000 people addicted to heroin and crack at present. They do not work and live with the help of the government,” he said.

Many sociologists in Britain believe that for young people, families are an important factor in the continuation or the end of a life of crime.

For example, in the Edlington attack, the elder brother, who was 11 years old, took drugs and drank when he was nine years old.

He had previously been sentenced in several criminal cases. The two boys watched pornographic and horror films at home from the time they were six and seven years old. Their father used to violently assault their mother.

Experience shows that most people with such backgrounds later enter the security or military services, the BBC report said.

It seems that it will be very difficult to resolve Britain’s social problems.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has described Britain as a damaged country in moral terms.

From >> http://www.presstv.ir/classic/detail.aspx?id=116960&sectionid=351020601