Drivers prosecuted for manslaughter or injury face up to 10 years in prison, but in practice most are sentenced to less than two years.
There is a wide gap between the risk of drivers sentenced for injury and manslaughter and the sentences that are actually applied. This is what emerges from a report by the Ministry of Justice summarizing the convictions pronounced against speeders in 2020.
In the case of people convicted of unintentional injuries with aggravating circumstances or in a situation of recidivism, eight out of ten were sentenced to prison terms. But while the Penal Code provides for up to five or seven years in prison depending on whether one or two aggravating circumstances are retained, the sentences actually imposed are on average 8.3 months in prison, according to ministry data.
Less than two years in prison on average
In the case of manslaughter, the drivers incur between five and ten years in prison, depending on whether or not aggravating circumstances are recognized. 97% of drivers found guilty are sentenced to prison.
But in cases where there are no aggravating circumstances, they are sentenced to 21.9 months on average, against 22.4 months for the others.
Sentences are pronounced with a total reprieve in nine cases out of ten for speeders who have not consumed drugs or alcohol, and in one case out of three for those who are under the influence of these substances at the time of driving. ‘accident.
Pierre Palmade under the influence of cocaine
In the case of Pierre Palmade, who is involved in a car accident which occurred on Friday in Seine-et-Marne, an investigation has been opened for “involuntary homicide” by the Melun prosecution.
The actor was taken into custody on Wednesday for the counts of “manslaughter” and “unintentional injuries by driver under the influence of narcotics”. Indeed, the actor’s toxicological analyzes revealed that he had consumed cocaine the evening when the vehicle he was driving collided with another, a consumption of narcotics which could be recognized as an aggravating circumstance.
Injury or manslaughter?
The accident injured three people, including a seven-month pregnant woman who lost her baby. It is the circumstances of the death of this fetus which will make it possible to reclassify the facts for which Pierre Palmade is prosecuted, in injuries or involuntary homicide.
A court decision will have to define the status of the lost child. Indeed, embryos and fetuses do not have legal personality under French law. An autopsy and an inquest will determine the causes of death and determine whether the child was able to breathe before dying or whether he died of injuries caused by the accident.
In the event of “unintentional injuries”, Pierre Palmade could be sentenced to a sentence of up to seven years in prison. If he is prosecuted for “manslaughter”, the sentence could extend to ten years in prison.
