THE mother of murdered 11- year-old Rhys Jones said bad parenting led to the fatal shooting of her son.
Melanie Jones said she could not understand the lifestyles and the lack of aspirations of the seven people convicted over the killing.
In her first television interview since the sentencing of her son’s killer Sean Mercer, she also admitted it angered her when people said Rhys was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".
Mrs Jones said: "Rhys was where he should have been. It was Sean Mercer who should not have been there."
The schoolboy was gunned down in broad daylight by Mercer as he walked home from football training through the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park in August 2007.
Mercer, 18, was convicted of murder and must serve a minimum of 22 years.
Seven other males were found guilty of helping him cover up his crime.
