His crime is mental illness.
The thing is, Dutch psychiatrists would defend this option because it is
safer than using major tranquillisers on children. The chemical
restraint does the same thing as the physical restraint but the physical
restraint is safer. The physical restraint is also more obviously
inhumane but it is the same as the pill which does the same job.
Tethered teenage psychiatric patient shocks Netherlands
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12256811
"The Netherlands has been plunged into a debate about how to deal with
violent psychiatric patients, after images of a tethered teenager
appeared on Dutch TV.
The pictures were taken after a tip-off from a whistle-blower, who
worked at the institution where the 18-year-old, known only as Brandon,
is confined.
The pictures show him wearing a harness attached to a metal bracket on
the wall by a thick leather strap.
He has been confined in this way every single day for three years.
His mother has been quoted saying he lives like "a caged animal".
Brandon, who suffers from severe learning difficulties, has been
confined to institutions since the age of five.
He used to be allowed home at weekends but staff became increasingly
afraid of his moods as he grew older and, since 2007, with the
permission of a judge, he has been tethered daily.
Mental health experts in the Netherlands say this is not an isolated
case, and there may be as many as 40 patients held in similar circumstances.
But a number of Dutch politicians reacted with shock when the pictures
of Brandon were shown on television and there was an emergency debate in
parliament.
The deputy health minister, who visited the institution where Brandon is
confined, described the images as truly harrowing.
She defended the practice of continuous restraint, saying sometimes you
need to protect people from themselves, but also promised an urgent
review, to see if any other methods could be used.
"
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