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Pierre Palmade accident: after the death of a fetus, can the comedian be convicted of manslaughter?

2023-02-14T16:41:08.654Z


FOCUS – The car accident involving the comedian left three seriously injured, including a six-month pregnant woman who lost her baby.


The drama raises a thorny legal question: that of the status of the fetus who died as a result of the accident involving Pierre Palmade and two other vehicles, Friday evening February 10, on a departmental road in Seine-et-Marne.

Among the three seriously injured, there is in particular a woman, six months pregnant, who lost her baby that evening following the shock of the collision.

Pierre Palmade's car would have swerved into the left lane, on a two-way road, hitting this second vehicle.

The woman is still in serious condition in hospital, as are the two other passengers, a man and a six-year-old child.

Since then, the Melun prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for "

homicide and involuntary injuries by a driver under the influence of narcotics

".

Among the many questions on the legal consequences of this case, there is in particular that of the legal status of the fetus.

Can manslaughter be retained in this case?

Fetal viability

“The

case law is very clear on this point

,” explains criminal lawyer Michael Malka-Sebban.

Since the judgment of June 30, 1999, the Court of Cassation has considered that an offense of voluntary or involuntary homicide can only concern a “legal person”.

And the fetus, precisely, does not have one: in criminal law, it does not exist, since it is part of its mother's body and does not possess an autonomous existence.

This legislation was confirmed by a judgment of June 29, 2001, which imposes the principle of strict interpretation of criminal law, and does not provide that the death of the fetus can be qualified as the death of another person.

This, when it occurs in road accidents or medical accidents, cannot therefore be qualified as “manslaughter”.

In the case of Pierre Palmade's accident, "

the major problem revolves around the viability of the fetus

", explains Michael Malka-Sebban.

"

Did he breathe, even for a few seconds, outside of his mother's womb?"

If so, then he is a legal personality, and Pierre Palmade risks conviction.

“The comedian would then be exposed to five years in prison and a 75,000 euro fine, a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000 euro fine if aggravating circumstances (such as taking narcotics at the time of the facts) are retained.

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Conversely, if the fetus died

in utero

, the qualification of manslaughter cannot be retained.

Ultimately, for the comedian to be sentenced for manslaughter, "

it would take a specific text which punishes the death of a fetus in utero

", details the criminal lawyer.

Four days after the accident, an investigation is underway to shed light on its circumstances.

It will determine in particular if "

the child was born alive and then died, or if he had died before childbirth

", indicated to AFP the prosecutor of Melun, Jean-Michel Bourlès.

If case law has remained constant since 2001, one case is notable: a motorist had been convicted by the Tarbes criminal court in 2014 for involuntary homicide on a fetus.

Under drug treatment, the driver, who had drunk two glasses of wine, had lost control of his car, mowing down a young woman.

The latter, six and a half months pregnant, had lost her child.

The public prosecutor had considered that the fetus was "

viable

" at the time of the shock, "

dead as a result of the accident

", due to "

the shock of the fetus against the uterine wall

".

However, the public prosecutor's office had appealed, and the Pau Court of Appeal finally overturned this decision.

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If the fetus does not have legal personality, it does however have civil personality: since April 2021, parents can declare their baby dead by giving it a first name and a family name.

Does this measure contradict criminal law?

Not really

,” replies Michael Malka, “

since civil laws and criminal laws do not pursue the same goals.

“And to conclude:”

we cannot speak of legal nothingness for this case, since the law is very regulated.

On the other hand, the subject raises obvious ethical questions: from when are we really alive?

This explains the disagreements of the legislators.

»

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-14

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