Is this too little, too much or just about right based on the typical sentencing standards of Dutch justice?
I’m on the fence here.
I truly expected the judge to honour the DA’s demand, which was a life sentence. Van der Graaf was declared sane, so a regular sentence was all they could do (no lifetime psych wards and such). The DA reasoned, that Van der Graaf had “shocked the Dutch democracy” by killing Fortuyn, necessitating a life sentence. Van der Graaf’s lawyers reasoned that this was nonsense: Van der Graaf went out and killed a man with premeditation, but since he had no prior record, he should be sentenced like any other murderer under those circumstances.
It looks like the judge leaned towards the latter scenario. No vengeance for Fortuyn’s fans: a plain murder trial. Perhaps it’s better this way, but when Van der Graaf walks in 2014 (typically, a jail sentence [other than life] is only carried out to 2/3 of its extent in the Netherlands, unless the inmate is considered a danger still - the system is geared towards rehabilitation rather than punishment), he probably won’t be safe in this country. I had no love for Fortuijn (of course, I didn’t want him killed, either), but it is undeniable that thousands if not millions of my countrymen had.
Of course, the case is not over if the DA appeals. Which he might.
Which he meanwhile did.
Yeah, read that too. Hardly surprising.
Being one of Coldfire’s countrymen (not one of the thousands who had a lot of sympathy for Foruyn), I am content with the sentence Van der Graaf got.
As the judge pointed out, vengange was not (and shouldn’t be) the (main) motive for the sentence. Van der Graaf expressed some sort of guilt, would (probably…) not do it again and deserves a second chance.
Giving him an exceptional sentence would, in my view, make Fortuyn even more of a legend than he already is. As far as I’m concerned, democracy wasn’t that shattered in the Netherlands. Things have gotten back to normal pretty quick, judging by the usuall quarreling in politics lately. I doubt whether Van der G. would be in danger in 2014 when released.
From kausfiles.
Well, for the dutch justice system (and as far as I know) that is not the relevant question.
The (yet too be proven) premise that a harder punishment protects better against further wrongdoing by potential other offenders that a shorter sentence, does not come into the equation. Van der Graaf, nor the justice system is responsible for the behavior of future lunatics who are willing to die for there cause (which most political assassins would probably be, what punishment would scare them off?). The best thing they could do was display the thoughtfullness of the democracy and the justics system. The ebst thing the DA could do was appeal.
“Yet to be proven”? Are you serious? This is a hijack that will shoot us right into GD territory, but I simply have to ask…do you honestly feel that a sentence of ten days would deter future wrongdoing the same as a life sentence?
No
However, I do not think that ther is a linear connection between the lenght or severity of a sentence and the prevention of future wrongdoing. Somewhere the benifit is much and much too small compared too the costs. I don’t know how long that is, there’s justices for these things, I have faith in them, but at a certain time, 40 years does not, IMHO, protect more against other lunatics than, say, 25.