Patrick Henry, French child murderer in famous case, to be released

PARIS (AP) - French criminal justice authorities say a child murderer whose case has become a symbol of the fight against the death penalty will be released from prison.

The prosecutor's office in Melun, south of Paris, said Friday that 64-year-old Patrick Henry has had his sentence suspended for medical reasons.

Henry was serving a life sentence for the murder of a 7-year-old boy in 1976.

At the time, his lawyer Robert Badinter used his case to advocate against the death penalty.

The argument remains one of the most famous of France's judicial history.

The death penalty was abolished in France in 1981 when Badinter was justice minister.

Henry's lawyer Hugo Levy told France Info radio his client has lung cancer.

Source: The Associated Press, September 15, 2017

➤ Related content: France: Convicted child killer Patrick Henry to be released on parole after 38 years behind bars, January 7, 2016

Patrick Henry libéré après 40 années passées en prison

Il est l'un des plus anciens détenus de France, mais aussi un symbole de la lutte contre la peine de mort : Patrick Henry, 64 ans dont 40 passés en prison pour le meurtre d'un enfant, a obtenu ce vendredi une suspension de peine pour raisons médicales. Une demande obtenue en raison d'un cancer.

Depuis des décennies, Patrick Henry est un symbole: celui d'un assassin d'enfant.

A la fin des années 1970 ce jeune VRP enlève un garçonnet à la sortie d'une école et formule une demande de rançon.

L'affaire tourne mal, le corps de l'enfant sera découvert mort par strangulation. « La France a peur » lance alors à la télévision le journaliste Roger Giquel.

Le procès qui suivit en 1977 a marqué les anales judiciaires. Patrick Henry encourt la peine capitale, mais de justesse il échappe à la guillotine.

Son avocat Robert Badinter, fervent militant de l'abolition de la peine de mort convainc les jurés.

A la cour d'assises qui venait de lui sauver la tête, Patrick Henry dira : « Vous n'aurez pas à le regretter ».

Il va passer près d'un quart de siècle derrière les barreaux. Il reprend ses études et devient un détenu modèle. En 2001, libéré sous conditions, il va cependant vite casser cette image. Il est interpellé en Espagne avec 10 kilos de cannabis, ce qui signifie pour lui un retour à la case prison.

Après 40 ans d'emprisonnement, il entend désormais mener en homme libre son dernier combat, celui contre le cancer.

Source: RFI, 15 septembre 2017

Libéré après 40 ans de détention, Patrick Henry va emménager près de Lille

Patrick Henry, peu de temps avant son arrestation en 1976

Atteint d'un cancer du poumon, Patrick Henry a été remis en liberté après 40 ans passés derrière les barreaux.

Il doit s'installer dans la métropole lilloise, où il suit un traitement au CHRU, dans un appartement prêté par une amie nordiste qui le soutient depuis 25 ans.

Libéré ce samedi, Patrick Henry, l'un des plus anciens détenus de France, devrait venir emménager dans la métropole lilloise.

Martine Veys, une visiteuse de prison qui le soutient depuis 25 ans, doit lui prêter un logement proche du CHRU de Lille, où il suit un traitement pour son cancer du poumon.

Le soutien de cette amie, rencontrée lorsqu'il était en prison à Caen, et de son mari a pesé dans la décision de justice, qui a estimé que "la motivation financière, qui a toujours guidé ses passages à l'acte, semble pouvoir être écartée" aujourd'hui car sa "sortie sera entièrement prise en charge (...) par un couple d'amis qui le soutient depuis 25 ans".

Condamné en 1977 à une peine de perpétuité, incarcéré depuis 40 ans pour le meurtre par strangulation du jeune Philippe Bertrand, sept ans, était devenu un symbole de la lutte contre la peine de mort en échappant de peu à la guillotine grâce à la défense de son avocat Robert Badinter.

Il obtient une libération conditionnelle en 2001 mais il retourne en prison l'année suivante pour trafic de stupéfiants. Depuis, Patrick Henry avait fait plusieurs demandes de libération, allant jusqu'à entamer une grève de la faim en 2011.

Depuis le 15 mai, il est régulièrement hospitalisé dans une unité sécurisée. Il va désormais pouvoir quitter cette unité et devenir un "patient ordinaire", a dit son avocat Hugo Lévy. Plusieurs médecins ont considéré que son état de santé était "durablement incompatible avec la détention", selon le jugement du tribunal de l'application des peines (TAP) de Melun.

Un couple de Nordistes lui prête un appartement

Martine Veys s'est engagé plusieurs fois devant la justice à accompagner Patrick Henry. Elle confiait l'année dernière au Parisien avoir proposé un logement, voire un contrat de travail, à chacune de ses demandes de libération depuis sept ans.

Martine Veys habite à la frontière belge et possède plusieurs biens immobiliers dans la métropole, dont un vacant qu'elle a préparé pour Patrick Henry. "Je lui ai proposé un hébergement et une aide financière pour subvenir à ses besoins", a-t-elle expliqué. L'ancien détenu est "dévoré par la maladie", a ajouté cette amie. "Aujourd'hui, il veut le silence autour de lui, se soigner le mieux possible, c'est ce qu'il m'a dit".

Source: France Info, 15 septembre 2017

➤ Related content: France: Convicted child killer Patrick Henry to be released on parole after 38 years behind bars, January 7, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

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