For one man, the usual punishment has become “cruel and unusual.”
We’re sure the jury has heard every excuse to get out of jail, but this one’s a weighty situation. Angelo MacD., who is serving an 18-month sentence for fraud in a southwestern Netherlands prison, claims that he simply cannot live comfortably inside his cell.
(More on TIME.com: See inside the world’s most humane prison.)
“He is a giant of a man, there’s no way you cannot realize that as soon as you see him,” said Angelo’s lawyer, Bas Martens. Martens said his client, who is 2.07 meters (about 6 feet 10 inches) tall and weighs 230 kilograms (500 pounds), has been forced to serve his time in a 10 square meter (12 sq. yard) cell. He claims the bed is too small and the toilet too low, invoking a violation of European human rights laws.
However, the jail is fighting back, saying that they’ve made amends for oversized Angelo. He’s been provided with an extra mattress and a piece of wood to extend his bed. But will that be enough for him to live comfortably until April of next year? Angelo is lobbying to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.