Weatherwind wants to prevent someone from inheriting from the one he killed.

Minister Weerwind wants to make it clear by law that people are not allowed to derive any financial benefit from a crime. He said this in the House of Representatives after an objection from the SP and VVD. The immediate cause of the groups was a lawsuit filed against a man who killed his wife and was able to share the victim’s legacy after he was sentenced to TBS.

There is already a law that says that a person convicted of murdering another cannot inherit from the deceased. However, in the case referred to by SP and VVD, according to the judge, the perpetrator was not convicted (a hospital decision) and therefore cannot be excluded from inheritance.

Lawmakers Van Nispen (SP) and Ellian (VVD) believe that this goes against the spirit of justice and cannot be intentional. Van Nispen: “The law is unclear at this point and this could have unintended consequences.”

Air wind: scanty and incomprehensible

Weerwind stressed in the lower house that he did not want to comment on the specific case and that the appeal was still pending. But he understands that the legacy of a murdered person is perceived by people as inadequate and incomprehensible. Whatever the outcome of this case, the Minister of Legal Protection will amend the law so that such cases do not recur in the future. He wants to prepare a bill in the first half of next year.

Van Nispen spoke of a “generous commitment”: “Fortunately that doesn’t happen often, but it’s good that the legislature is trying to bring back an ambiguous law, not just for the judges who are fighting it, but for the people above all. Those who struggle see an injustice change.”