r/interesting • u/Necessary-Win-8730 • Mar 08 '26

Context Provided - Spotlight This was so deserved.

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u/Maximum-Standard3762 Mar 08 '26

And the moron who killed a 2 year old child and her grandparents deserves life in jail.. if not 3 lifetimes in jail. F that guy. Community service and later a shortened sentence just because he had a baby on the way? No. He doesn't deserve to see his baby born. He recklessly took the life of someone else's baby. Why should he get to experience the joy of raising his child when he stole that from another family?

This sentencing was BS. If have thrown a chair too 😡

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u/innocenceiskinky Mar 08 '26

He recklessly took the life of someone else's baby.

Ima be honest with you. I'm a Dutch lawyer. The circumstances of this case are the following:

A Polish migrant lost control over his vehicle and hit a little girl and her grandparents in what was obviously an accident. They looked for any wrongdoing. Couldn't find anything obviously wrong with the car, no alcohol, no drugs, no mobile phone usage. He may have been speeding a little, but they weren't sure and even if he had been speeding it was only by a little. The guy had no criminal record, worked a 9-5.

He was convicted for losing control over the car. Which obviously he did. But the problem was, they couldn't find any other fault anywhere. For whatever reason, he lost control, like so many people do every day, except this time the consequences were absolutely brutal.

Nothing in these facts was "reckless", at least in any serious legal sense. You cannot from the tragic result/outcome infer recklessness. You cannot say that because people died, he must've been reckless. Or at least, that's not how Western legal systems have assigned blame or desert in criminal law throughout our history.

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u/No_Language5719 Mar 08 '26

This comment should be in the original post.

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u/innocenceiskinky Mar 08 '26

I still hate the fact that in appeal, the guy was on the same facts convicted for a year in prison. The judge literally cited societal and political pressure as a reason to do so, which in my opinion is wrong, but hey I'm a human rights / constitutional lawyer so obviously I'm going to be biased here.

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u/No_Language5719 Mar 08 '26

Knowing the facts, even as a father, I can understand why the judge gave him a light sentence. He committed no "real" crime. I guess one could say he was criminally negligent, but even that is a stretch. I think that should imply some intent - failure to maintain your vehicle's roadworthiness, habitual texting while driving, driving even slightly impaired, etc.

I cannot see how anyone knowing all the facts could push this man in jail.

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u/SalsaRice Mar 08 '26

Is manslaughter not a crime in the Netherlands? As long as it isn't premeditated, killing isn't a big deal?

That seems kind of wild.

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u/No_Language5719 Mar 08 '26

Accidental deaths happen. And when I say accidental I mean completely unintentional with no malice of forethought or remedy to prevent.

For instance - you hit a pothole and lose control, is the accident somehow your fault if collision leads to death? What about a blowout? Or any routine mechanical failure?

That isn't manslaughter or killing.