2 Fat 2 B in Jail
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An Italian innovation has finally made it to Canada. A man received a lighter sentence for being too fat. Being too fat is no longer an ethical crime, even though in Africa more people than ever die of malnutrition and related diseases, and the one called Meat Loaf continues to roam the land: Back in March 13, 2008, a court in Sicily has ruled that an accused Mafioso must go under house arrest as no prison was equipped to deal with him. Salvatore Ferranti, weighing 462 lbs went through 4 Italian prisons, as the guards complained that he took too many resources and time. Closer to home, Michel Lapointe, imprisoned on drug-trafficking and conspiracy charges, walked out of Bordeaux Jail on Tuesday night after winning early parole, as the prison could no longer keep him and no half-way house wanted him. “In the end, some might say he got off easy,” Mr. Lapointe's lawyer, Clemente Monterosso, said in an interview Wednesday. “But he didn't choose to be morbidly obese. This man is a colossus.” Furthermore, the story states that: In May, a Long Island, N.Y., man accused of selling knockoff guitars was arraigned in a pickup truck in aparking lot because at 500 pounds, he was unable to walk into the courthouse. We are blessed to live in a compassionate society. And sometimes, our compassion can be very costly. Not long ago, Transportation Canada forced airlines to implement the “one person, one fare” policy for obese people. This means that obese people will be able to travel occupying two seats while paying for only one (5, 6). It doesn’t stop here. The government has the obligation to pay for the defense of those in a criminal trial who cannot afford it. The worse and clearer the crime, the costlier the defense (8). The Supreme Court decided in 2003 that mitigating factors might have to be researched in an accused early life. Consider the Georgia trial of Brian Nichols. He shot a judge and a court reporter in 2005 in a courtroom while making an escape, then killed two more people stealing cars and taking a hostage. The taxpayers spent $ 1.2 million in his defense, and jury selection hasn’t even been completed, as the legislature is refusing to pay any more. But then within twenty years the Pope will be where he ought to be, in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils — and very active ones, not passive ones. The moral of the story is that if you’re angry at authority, don’t go halfway making jokes, better go all the way and play some real GTA. Just don’t do it in Denmark, they criminalized trans-fats so it’s harder to become obese… 1. G&M: Too fat for prison, criminal is free to go 2. WSJ: The High Price of Defending Killers 3. Metro: Mafia man is too fat for prison 4. CBC: Denmark trims trans fats from nation's menus 5. Transportation Alberta: Barrier Free Obese People in Planes (PDF) 6. CTA: One-person-one-fare policy (CBC) 7. WSJ: Italian Comedienne Faces Possible Prosecution for Insulting Pope 8. tNY: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/04/080204fa_fact_toobin 9. Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4732048.ece
The lawyer said the 37-year-old Mr. Lapointe suffered in jail because of his weight. His mattress was about a foot too narrow for his body, he couldn't squeeze his legs under the prison tables at mealtimes, and seating didn't provide support for his back.
“His health deteriorated in detention from lack of exercise, bad prison food and poor sleep,” Mr. Monterosso said. Mr. Lapointe was forced to take a lot of medication, he added.
Mr. Lapointe's weight had already come into play when he was sentenced in May. A judge reduced his prison term by six months because of the weight-related hardships endured during his 20 months of detention after his arrest.
In its decision this week, the Quebec Parole Board cited Mr. Lapointe's health – along with factors such as good behaviour, his non-violent crime and the support of his wife and mother – in justifying early release.
“You have been incarcerated for over 25 months and your prison conditions are difficult because of the state of your health,” the commissioners wrote.
Mr. Lapointe has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission.
“His rights were violated because he wasn't given the tools to rehabilitate himself,” Mr. Monterosso said. “He deserved to be treated with dignity and humanity.”
During his time in jail, Mr. Lapointe's weight increased to around 430 pounds from 300-plus when he was arrested. His lawyer blamed the weight gain on greasy food.
On Tuesday night, after his release from jail, Mr. Lapointe was photographed by a Montreal newspaper outside the prison gate, a cigarette in hand.
“Finally, I'll have a real bed and a chair to sit on,” he told Le Journal de Montréal.
Craig Jones, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, said Mr. Lapointe's case is the first he's heard of an inmate asking for special treatment because of his weight. But he expects it will not be the last.
Legislation governing incarceration in Canada requires prisons to adapt their facilities and practices to deal with inmates' individual needs, which can range in severity from allergies to mental illness and physical disabilities.
In 2006, a death-row inmate in Spokane, Wash., died of liver disease 12 years after he was found to be too obese to hang. In 1994, a judge ruled that Mitchell Rupe, who had shot and killed two bank tellers during a robbery, could not be executed because his weight of 400 pounds meant that he might be decapitated.
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