Real Crime
Rhys Jones - Caught In The Crossfire
S2 • E27 Jun 15, 2009 60m
Walking home from football practice in Liverpool in August 2007, 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead. The incident caused an outpouring of sympathy and re-ignited fears that gun crime and gang-related violence were blighting Britain's streets. But behind the headlines lay a human tragedy as Rhys's parents Melanie and Stephen struggled with bafflement and grief.
Real Crime's Mark Austin interviews the couple, whose decency shines amid the depressing
details of the feckless lives led by Rhys's murderer Sean Mercer and his fellow gang-members
and protectors.
Melanie Jones recalls a blase Mercer and his cocky little group in the dock in court during their
trial: "You'd think they were up for shoplifting."
Mercer, 18, was jailed for 22 years. His co-accused were convicted of helping him to evade
justice. They whooped with delight as they were sent down, says Stephen Jones, and his wife
still cannot get to grips with their lives: "Why don't they aspire to be someone?"
Real Crime's Mark Austin interviews the couple, whose decency shines amid the depressing
details of the feckless lives led by Rhys's murderer Sean Mercer and his fellow gang-members
and protectors.
Melanie Jones recalls a blase Mercer and his cocky little group in the dock in court during their
trial: "You'd think they were up for shoplifting."
Mercer, 18, was jailed for 22 years. His co-accused were convicted of helping him to evade
justice. They whooped with delight as they were sent down, says Stephen Jones, and his wife
still cannot get to grips with their lives: "Why don't they aspire to be someone?"
