In August, the people responsible for the death of Baby P were named after a court anonymity order expired. Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, 28, and her partner Steven Barker, 33, were convicted of causing Peter's death on 11th November 2008. Jason Owen, 37, who had changed his name by deed poll and was also convicted, was identified as Barker's brother.

It was not only the names and photographs of Peter's killers that were released, but also information regarding their backgrounds, prompting revulsion and compassion.

In 1995 the Barker Brothers were charged with assaulting their grandmother in an attempt to make her change her will. The trial judge described Connelly as selfish, calculating and manipulative. It was revealed that she once described on a networking site how, instead of caring for Peter, she spent her days drinking vodka, watching pornographic films and having sex with her new boyfriend.

It was also revealed that Connelly had an absent father who was a sex offender, a neglectful mother, and another relative who was part of a paedophile ring in one of the biggest children's home scandals of the 20th century. The Barker brothers were also the products of an abusive background.

In Connelly and the Barker brothers, we are confronted with the human face of evil and the depraved depths to which we human beings can stoop. The revelations concerning their childhoods demonstrate that they are not only guilty of evil; they are also victims of it. The lives of Connelly and the Barker brothers should prompt us to reflect on how their stories could be our own, and repent of our complicity with evil whenever we have allowed it to go unchallenged.

This article originally appeared in Christianity Magazine.