I guess that when someone with a high position in the prosecution service writes “It is tempting for too much to be examined“, one can have an idea of what to expect out of the justice system.

I would like to ask all of the prosecutors a few questions about how they would respond to the situation if it happened to their family:

1. If your severely disabled partner was administered a medication overdose, for a medication that should not have been given at all, and your partner almost died, wouldn’t you want it to be fully investigated and prosecuted? If this can happen to one person it can happen to others.
2. If the police have been provided with the medication bottle with fingerprints on it, which should be on file, wouldn’t you want that to be investigated and prosecuted?
3. If there was a witness to the administration of a medication overdose, wouldn’t you want that to be investigated and prosecuted?
4. If after your partner was rendered unconscious a large amount of money was taken from them, which there is a witness to it having been withdrawn from the bank an hour earlier, wouldn’t you want that investigated and prosecuted?
5. If many self-incriminating statements in writing, including having given the medication overdose and being in possession of the money, have been provided to the police, wouldn’t you want that investigated and prosecuted?
6. If after dismissing the case your family dogs were poisoned, killing one of them, wouldn’t you see that as a direct threat to your family not to take further action, and wouldn’t you want that investigated and prosecuted?
7. Wouldn’t you want the poison evidence to be examined for finger prints and a search done for poison residue and for neghbours to be asked if they witnessed anything?
8. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that the person was never allowed to work with other disable people again, so that this did not happen to another severely disabled person and their family?
9. Wouldn’t you want your partner to have access to justice and for the police and prosecution service to treat your partner with dignity and understanding and not just dismiss the case because it was complicated by disability?
10. Wouldn’t you want to know that the laws of the Netherlands are there to protect all, without discrimination because of disability, and want to make sure that peope who perpetrate crimes against the most vulnerable in society are dealt with to the fullest extent of the law?

Photo credit:
Jaarverslag 2008 van het Nederlands Forensisch Instituut (NFI).
2008 annual report of the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI).