Skip to main content

France : un rapport prône la prison à 12 ans


Un rapport proposant d’avancer à 12 ans l’âge légal d’un possible placement en détention en France a suscité des critiques du Syndicat de la magistrature (SM), classé à gauche. Ce rapport, dont les conclusions sont publiées dans La Croix et Le Parisien, vendredi 28 novembre, a été rédigé par une commission de réflexion installée, en avril 2008, par Rachida Dati [ministre de la Justice] pour réformer l’ordonnance de 1945 sur la justice des mineurs. Déjà modifié trente-et-une fois, ce texte prévoit des peines atténuées pour les mineurs et déclare que l’éducatif doit primer sur le répressif.

Le rapport permet la prison à 12 ans en fixant la responsabilité pénale à cet âge, ce qui signifie qu’en-deçà ne seraient possibles que des mesures éducatives. Le système français actuel ne prévoit aucun âge, la responsabilité étant appréciée au cas par cas suivant le "discernement". Certains pays européens ont un âge déterminé pour l’âge minimal de mise en détention, d’où la réflexion, mais il est souvent à 14 ans. Le rapport propose même des dérogations possibles jusqu’à 10 ans. Il propose aussi des sanctions plus rapides et plus fermes. L’âge de la majorité pénale -le moment où le jeune délinquant encourt la même peine qu’un adulte- resterait à 18 ans, sauf pour les multirécidivistes où il passerait à 16 ans.

"Il est clair qu’on est dans cette politique du tout-pénal qui oublie complètement qu’un mineur peut être un délinquant, mais qu’il est surtout un être en construction. On ne peut pas dissocier la politique pénale de la politique éducative", a dit à Reuters la présidente du Syndicat de la magistrature, Emmanuelle Perreux. Selon Emmanuelle Perreux, les membres de la commission de réflexion sont divisés, ce qui explique le retard d’un mois pris pour la remise du rapport. Elle conteste les fondements de la réflexion. "Les mineurs sont les mêmes qu’hier. Ce qui change, c’est le contexte économique et social. Ce discours ambiant qui consiste à dire que la délinquance des mineurs augmente est un faux discours", a-t-elle dit. Des sociologues contestent en effet la thèse d’une supposée hausse de la violence chez les jeunes, estimant au contraire que leur part dans la criminalité générale baisse.

La ministre n’a pas souhaité s’exprimer sur les conclusions et ne le fera que pour la remise officielle du document, mercredi 3 décembre, a dit son porte-parole, Guillaume Didier. En avril, en installant la commission, la ministre se plaçait clairement dans la perspective d’une sévérité accrue, nécessaire, à ses yeux, pour répondre à ce qui est décrit comme une explosion de la délinquance des plus jeunes. Le contexte politique a changé, depuis l’installation de la commission. Une vague de suicides, notamment de plusieurs mineurs, a frappé ces dernières semaines les prisons [françaises], au bord de l’explosion avec 63 750 détenus pour 50 000 places. Rachida Dati a été par ailleurs vivement critiquée, jeudi 27 novembre, par le Conseil supérieur de la magistrature, pour avoir mis en cause à tort des magistrats après le suicide d’un détenu mineur, à Metz, en octobre 2008.


Ci-dessus : Une cellule à la prison pour mineurs de Meyzieu, France

Source : Reuters
Dessin de presse : Chimulus

Comments

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

Gov. Mike DeWine calls for Ohio to abolish the death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

I watched Ohio's last execution. Here's what it was like

As Gov. DeWine calls for Ohio to end capital punishment, the state’s last execution remains the one I witnessed in 2018 Inside Ohio's death house, there is a room for executions and separate witness rooms: one for those connected to the victim and another for those connected to the inmate. Windows separate the death chamber from those watching, the condemned from the living. I was there on July 18, 2018 – during Ohio’s most recent execution. Robert Van Hook was put to death that day for killing David Self in 1985. He sat on death row for three decades. I was one of three media witnesses to the execution.

Kansas AG urges governor to deny clemency to 8 sentenced to death

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach on Tuesday urged the governor to deny clemency to Kansas inmates who have been sentenced to death. Eight of nine people sentenced to death in Kansas formally filed clemency requests in May, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. Kobach urged Gov. Laura Kelly to reject them.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term:   Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

SCOTUS: Alabama can’t execute Jeffery Lee by nitrogen; Thursday execution called off

After a week of legal volleyball, Alabama death row inmate Jeffery Lee’s execution—scheduled for Thursday evening—was called off after federal courts called the state’s nitrogen gas execution method “likely unconstitutional.” The state took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping Lee could still be put to death tonight.  In an order issued at 8:10 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that it would not lift a ban on Alabama executing Lee via nitrogen . In a short court order, the justices denied Alabama’s motion to go ahead with the execution.  Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the appeal and let the execution proceed, according to the order. 

With nitrogen gas blocked, Alabama seeks to execute inmate by lethal injection

Jeffery Lee, who successfully challenged his scheduled Thursday execution by nitrogen gas, argued that execution by firing squad would be less painful. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Friday sought to put an Alabama death row inmate to death by lethal injection a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed the state’s attempt to execute him by nitrogen gas. In a filing with the Alabama Supreme Court Friday afternoon, the state sought an expedited motion to set a new execution date for Jeffery Lee, 49. The state said that with a permanent injunction in place against nitrogen gas, the method by which the state intended to execute Lee on Thursday, it could execute him by lethal injection or the electric chair.

Alabama | Judge bars nitrogen gas execution, says method is unconstitutionally cruel

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas after declaring it violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday. The decision, for now, blocks the use of the controversial new execution method that the state has championed since 2024, but the issue will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Idaho will soon turn to firing squad executions. Police will pull the triggers

Trained members of Idaho law enforcement with demonstrated firearms proficiency are expected to fill slots for carrying out the death penalty by firing squad as the state prison system transitions to the controversial execution method next month.  Six volunteers certified for no less than three years apiece through Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, will be recruited to ensure the Idaho Department of Correction is ready to comply with a state law that prioritizes shooting prisoners to death over lethal injection starting July 1.  No one on the team may have faced disciplinary action over firearms, use of force, or related conduct over the prior year, according to new execution protocols the prison system released this week. 

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted an execution that a Trump judge deemed illegal

The Supreme Court these days is generally in the business of helping executions go forward. But on Thursday night, the court did something notable: It told Alabama no. Even then, the court wasn't unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the refusal to let the nitrogen gas execution of Jeffery Lee proceed. What prompted the rare rejection? In line with the typical shadow docket practice, the court didn't explain itself. Nor did the dissenters, who merely noted their disagreement. But a deeper look at the case helps us understand why a majority of the court was unwilling to help the state this time.