Posted on 06/30/2003 10:57:03 AM PDT by knighthawk
The appeal case of the man charged with last year's murder of politician Pim Fortuyn is due to open in Amsterdam on Tuesday. Animal rights activist Volkert van der G. was sentenced to 18 years in jail last April. Both the prosecutors and the defendant appealed against the verdict. The prosecution lawyers are seeking a heavier sentence. They earlier demanded life imprisonment.
Once again, the judges have allotted three days for the proceedings. And once again, all the facts will be reviewed in a detailed account of everything Van der G. did on the day of the murder until he pulled the trigger.
Undoubtedly, the appeals court will again focus on the motive and on the impact of the murder "on the democratic process at the time", coming as it did on the eve of general elections. The central question will be: does the gravity of the crime warrant life or temporary imprisonment?
Rerun
The appeal case will be a repetition of the trial earlier this year, is the assessment of Theo de Roos, criminal law professor at Leiden University.
"It looks as if neither prosecution nor defence will come up with new requests for a possible new or supplementary investigation. As regards the facts: everything has been thoroughly examined."
Nonetheless, professor De Roos believes the appeal is justified. "I find it consistent with the heavy demand of a life sentence - the maximum sentence under Dutch law - initially brought by the prosecution."
New assessment
The appeal court can quash the earlier sentence and mete out a new punishment. In April, Volkert van der G. was given 18 years in jail. Handing down the verdict, the judges ruled that although the murder "constituted an attack on the democratic process", it had not left any "irreparable damage to the elections process."
The judges referred to "the greatest possible restraint" commonly observed in the Netherlands when it comes to applying the severest sentence: so far, life imprisonment has only been given to multiple murderers. Volkert van der G. had no previous convictions, and the judges deemed the chances that he would commit another similar murder in the future as negligible.
The penalty
As a rule, prison sentences in the Netherlands are reduced by a third. An 18-year prison term will therefore boil down to 12 years behind bars. Much too short, in the view of supporters of the slain politician. They find it reprehensible that Van der G. showed no sign of genuine remorse during his trial.
The animal rights activist told the court that he saw Pim Fortuyn as a "considerable danger to the weaker groups in society", namely Muslims, asylum seekers, immigrants and animals. And that the only way to stop him was to kill him. He was undecided whether the murder had been justified. "I still have to come to terms with the sorrow I caused. I never really thought about the consequences." Van der Graaf said he would never have done it again if the situation repeated itself.
Public debate
Similar dismay was expressed by Interior Minister Johan Remkes, who said he was "amazed by the verdict, and that's putting it mildly." Mr Remkes' unprecedented comment reignited the public debate about tougher sentencing.
Although studies show the opposite, there's a persistent and widely held view in the Netherlands that sentences are low when compared to other countries. The main parties in the Dutch Lower House, however, refrained from comment, pending the outcome of the appeal case.
New verdict?
Although the prosecutors initially stated they were "not disappointed" by the sentence, they decided to appeal and renew their demand for a life sentence. The prosecutors argue that, in determining the sentence, the judges gave insufficient weight to the impact of the murder on the democratic process.
The defence lawyers, on the other hand, would like the appeal judges to adopt the lower sentence they had demanded in the earlier trial. They point to the special measures surrounding Van der G.'s detention, including round-the-clock camera surveillance in his cell, designed to prevent him from committing suicide.
Criminal law professor Roos doesn't believe there'll be a new sentence:
"Although you never know what will happen during the trial. Events in the courtroom and the impression left on the three judges will ultimately be decisive."
Yeah, that about sums up the left.
WTF?? It caused irreparable damage to Pim Fortuyn!
O, pardon! (Jeetje, moet ik 't ook doorlezen?)
No prior convictions'll get you 18 months for murder! I guess I'll just wait and do my one nasty crime when I really want to, with almost no penalty.
HF
WTF?? It caused irreparable damage to Pim Fortuyn!
I had the same reaction when I read this! So if you murder someone and there is no "attack on the democratic process" involved, you get off with even less of a sentence? I say murder is murder, and then you can pile on additional punishment if there are special aggravating circumstances.
knighthawk, what's a typical sentence for a non-political murder these days in the Netherlands?
Almost being the key word. The article mentioned 18 years, not 18 months.
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