At 54, Pierre Palmade has just been indicted for homicide and involuntary injuries and placed under house arrest in an addiction service. The state of recidivism in which the actor finds himself increases the quantum of the penalty incurred.
The consequences of the road accident caused by Pierre Palmade could prove to be very heavy, on the criminal level, for the actor. This Friday, he was indicted for manslaughter and involuntary injuries by a driver under the influence of narcotics.
The judge of freedoms and detention decided to place him under judicial control with house arrest in an addictology service, under electronic bracelet, thus going against the requisitions of the prosecution which had demanded his placement in pre-trial detention. According to our information, this summons takes place at the Paul-Brousse hospital in Villejuif, but the prosecution immediately appealed and the decision must be reviewed before the Paris Court of Appeal within ten days to two weeks. Justice will in particular assess the risk of recidivism of the actor to make his decision.
At this stage, Pierre Palmade therefore avoids the remand center but in the event of conviction, his sentence could prove to be severe.
Up to 20 years in prison
Indeed, the 54-year-old comedian is currently in a state of recidivism “for having been sentenced in 2019 for acquiring narcotics”, specifies the parquet floor of Melun in a press release.
“When a person already convicted of a crime or misdemeanor (…) commits (…) a new offence, the maximum prison sentences and fines incurred are doubled”, provides article 132-9 of the penal code.
This means that the penalty incurred for the offense of “involuntary injuries” with the aggravating circumstance of consumption of narcotics would increase from 5 years to 10 years in prison. If another aggravating circumstance were added, for example that of excessive speed – which the investigation will determine – then the penalty incurred would increase from 7 to 14 years in prison. Analyzes must be carried out on Pierre Palmade’s vehicle.
Legal debate
In addition, if the charge of manslaughter is retained by the investigating magistrate, the penalty incurred by Pierre Palmade would no longer be 10 years, but 20 years of imprisonment, due to his situation of recidivism. However, a legal debate must still take place in order to determine whether the qualification of manslaughter can be accepted or not.
This decision will depend on the additional examinations carried out on the dead fetus due to the collision. The question is to know if, after the emergency caesarean that the pregnant woman of 6 months had to undergo, the fetus was born viable, or stillborn. In this second hypothesis, the charge of manslaughter could be abandoned in view of current case law.
