THE criminal court de Melun condemned comedian Pierre Palmade to five years in prison including three years suspended this Wednesday, November 21. A conviction that many comment on social networks. For many, this sentence is not enough. But what about it? Oise Hebdo compared this conviction with other road accidents judged before the courts of Oise…
Two years firm for Pierre Palmade
After the accident he caused while under the influence of drugs on February 10 in Seine-et-Marne, Pierre Palmade was sentenced this Wednesday, November 20 to a five-year prison sentence, three of which were suspended. In other words, the fixed part of his sentence can be adjusted and he emerged free from the hearing.
On February 10, he seriously injured three people, including a pregnant woman, who lost her baby following the accident. Pierre Palmade, having refused to appear for involuntary manslaughter, was tried for involuntary injuries.
The debate launched on social networks
On social networks, this decision sparks a lively debate, whether it concerns the qualification or even the sentence. For unintentional injuries, he faced a sentence of up to 14 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 euros. Is this punishment enough? Many Internet users believe not. On social networks, many have spoken out to denounce a justice system that they consider “lax”.
It is unfair not to recognize legal personality in a conceived child, when in reality, a conceived child is a person. A pregnant woman is not expecting anything: she is expecting a child. Infanticide.
— Elise H. (@EHecketsweiler) November 20, 2024
Between 14 possible and 5 required…there was room for 10 😏
— ethankill (@ethankill69) November 20, 2024
A less onerous qualification but a firm penalty
To compare this sentence, Oise Hebdo searched through its archives and found some cases of manslaughter judged by the courts of Oise.
Last July, the Compiègne court convicted a young woman for causing the death of her friend during a road accident leaving a Compiègne nightclub. Under the influence of alcohol when she got behind the wheel, she was hit by a heavy goods vehicle which she cut off. She received a three-year prison sentence, including two years suspended on probation, or one year in prison (a flexible sentence).
Last February, a motorist was sentenced for causing the death of a 38-year-old man, a father. At the time of the facts in July 2023, he was traveling on the A1. After a drunken evening, he drove home. He lost control of his vehicle and hit the central barrier, leaving debris behind. Further behind him, a 38-year-old man drove over the debris and lost control of his vehicle which was slammed under a heavy weight, killing him. For these facts, the first driver responsible for the accident is sentenced to two years in prison, with a full suspended sentence.
In January 2010, the driver of a delivery van was tried for manslaughter for hitting and killing a 69-year-old retiree. The events occurred in November 2006. The driver was sentenced to one year in prison, half of which was suspended.
Comparing these cases to that of the comedian, we cannot say that justice was lax towards the comedian since it had a heavier hand towards him (appearing for aggravated involuntary injuries) , than towards these other Isarian defendants (tried for involuntary homicide), where the charges of prevention (the legal qualification of the facts) were less serious.
Individualized sentences
But did justice want to make an example with the conviction of Pierre Palmade? No more. The principle of individualization of punishment is essential in French law. Thus, two people convicted of similar acts can be sentenced to very different sentences. To justify this difference in treatment, the court can invoke the personality of the defendant, or his background.
In the case of Pierre Palmade, the sentence he received certainly takes into account his criminal record. The comedian has already been tried for drug use. And despite this warning, he still got behind the wheel after using drugs.
In the archives of Oise Hebdoa case comparable to that of Pierre Palmade (from the point of view of his criminal record) was mentioned in 2010. That year, the Compiègne court judged a young man who caused the death of a 15-year-old teenager, who was traveling on a two-wheeler. The defendant was prosecuted for knocking him down and killing him under the influence of alcohol. It was not the first time he was tried for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was tried immediately and sentenced to two years in prison, the same sentence as Pierre Palmade.
