Dutch prisoner Angelo MacD is a giant by anyone's standards, but his request for a larger cell has been rejected. Conditions in his cell are "somewhat cramped but not inhumane", a court in The Hague has said.
Angelo had gone to court, requesting that his sentence be reviewed on the grounds that the facilities in his cell at the prison in Krimpen aan den IJssel were not suited to his unusual requirements. He complained that the bed is too short and his mattress too thin. He is serving 18 months for a non-violent crime. Angelo is 2.07 metres (6'9") tall and weighs 240 kilograms (529 lbs).
He doesn't fit any of the chairs in the prison recreation room and has problems using the toilets and showers. All of this, he claims, is causing him pain and health problems.
His lawyer Bas Martens commented on the court's decision:
"It's disappointing. We've tried all possible avenues to organise an alternative for the situation he is in at present. The judge says, however, that he can't expect to have a whole cell rebuilt for him."
Six months
Mr Martens says there is little point appealing against the ruling. For one thing, in this case - where Angelo went for a court order through summary proceedings - it will take six months before an appeal is considered. The lawyer concedes that his client's request to have his sentence commuted to 'electronic' house arrest stood no chance of succeeding. The old system of electronic tagging has just been abandoned in the Netherlands and it will apparently be another six months before the new system is implemented.
The suggestion of a creative solution did not go down well in court:
"We said: set him free until the summer when he can be fitted with a new-style electronic tag. But this judge was not willing. He argued that there was as good as no option of electronic tagging at the moment and therefore he couldn't order it."
The lawyer intends to try another way to ensure his client can complete his sentence in a more bearable way. The judge stated at one point that "the facilities could be improved" and he plans to use this remark to appeal to the prison director one more time.
(imm/rk/tf)
Email this Article
Printer-friendly version
Jasmin, The Dutch people are not one specific race. They are no different than the people of India. Where I come from, it is common to tag all Hispanics as Mexcians even though they were born in the U.S. and other countries besides Mexico. If one is born in the U.S., he or she is an American. P.S. I was not trying to be rude. It was just a different perspective from one who would argue with a fence post.
I get your point Hiram-but I wrote what was once an article in the old Dutch website. I quote others''The Dutch are the tallest people in Europe''http://www.holland.com/global/aboutholland/generalinformation/didyouknow/
''Statistically, the tallest people in the world, as measured by country are the Dutch. The average height for all adults for the Netherlands is 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m). This great leap in height is a huge change for Holland, where about 100 years ago, 25% of men who attempted to join the army were rejected as being too short, less than 62 inches (1.57 m) tall.
There are taller people belonging to certain populations within countries. This is especially true of the Maasai people, who live in parts of Tanzania and Kenya. But as a whole, the citizens living in the Netherlands are on average, the tallest people. Even people who have immigrated to the Netherlands from other parts of the world are taller on average than their racial groups in their countries of origin.''
http://www.wisegeek.com/which-country-has-the-tallest-people.htm
The Dutch are now the world's tallest
Once the tallest people in the world, Americans have been overtaken in height by most western and northern Europeans, researchers have revealed.
The Dutch - now the planet's tallest nation - tower over their US counterparts by around 4.7cm (1.8in) for men and 5.7cm (2.2in) for women, research published in the Annals of Human Biology journal shows.
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/35629-dutch-are-the-worlds-tallest-its-offic...
U.S. adults lost their position as the tallest people on Earth to the Dutch, who average about two inches taller than the typical American. In fact, American men now rank ninth and women 15th in average height, having fallen short of many other European nations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/12/AR200708...
"The man, who is serving 18 months for a white collar crime, is 2.07 metres (6'9") tall and weighs 240 kilograms (529 lb)."...18 months is a long sentence for anyone convicted of a white-collar crime in the Netherlands. If you compare the time given a murderer with a white-collar crime, it makes one believe that the Dutch government doesn't have much tolerance for one who steals but plenty of tolerance for those who murder innocent humans.
But aren't Dutch the tallest race in the world? Then why isn't the prison furniture as per them?
Post new comment
Please be reminded all comments must be in English, short and to the point - guideline 250 words. Abusive and inappropriate comments will be removed.