Albert Heijn killer may be pardoned after almost 30 years in prison
A man who shot employees at an Oosterbeek Albert Heijn in 1990 may be released, a new podcast for the Gelderlander revealed. The killer, Appie A., is currently serving a life sentence.
Podcast maker Marc Adriani discovered the possible release while creating a podcast about the decades-old event, which is known as one of the most violent robberies in Netherlands history. Two of the young supermarket employees were killed by A. and a third was permanently disabled. A. was sentenced to life in prison on April 18, 1995.
While conducting interviews for the project, including with relatives of the victims, Adriani found out from A.'s next of kin that he had been transferred to a TBS clinic and was preparing for probationary leave, according to the AD. The Ministry of Justice also sent a letter to the families of the victims, indicating A. may be pardoned. This motivated the victims' relatives, who were unhappy with the decision, to tell their stories for the first time in 32 years to the podcast maker, the AD reports.
Since 2017, people serving life sentences in the Netherlands can be pardoned by the minister of legal protection after a 25-year period. Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) stated in June that he was in favor of turning over this responsibility to a special court.
