Two men prosecuted for domestic violence were sentenced this Friday by the Foix criminal court to prison terms. For one, it is a flexible sentence of 9 months. For the other, from 15 months to be carried out immediately in the remand center.
While individual histories and backgrounds differ, cases of domestic violence brought before the criminal court often call on the same defense mechanisms. This Friday, the court of Foix was able to attest once again with these two cases of violence judged in the context of immediate appearance.
The first saw the conviction of a very young man, barely 18 years old, and perpetrator of repeated violence against his girlfriend for several months. Described as “unbearable and unbearable” by the prosecution, the facts were however minimized by the partner of the accused. The one who had detailed at first the hell of his daily life to the police had ended up going back on his statements, preferring to see “the good bottom” of his companion who “has never been so nice for a week”. For the latter, only a few blows – “three slaps and a cock” – are recognized. The other episodes, denied en bloc.
Conflicting stories
At the helm, he oscillates between a scene of anger and hot tears. “I shouldn’t have, it doesn’t happen, I’m sorry” before explaining: “sometimes she plays little. I want people to explain themselves, so I take her a little hard by the arm, I squeeze a little, but that’s all ”. Facing the court, he regularly loses his cool, his companion also raising her voice to defend him.
His lawyer, Me Andrieu, tries several times to calm things down. “You see, we are far from being in a peaceful climate,” says the lawyer who however tried to convince the court of the impact of a too heavy a penalty for such a young defendant. “Under his proud man’s underwear, he is afraid and he blames himself. 18 years old is too young, it’s too early, ”she says.
Not enough to convince the court which, chaired by Fabrice Vétu, went beyond the initial requisitions of the public prosecutor (2 years, including one year in prison) by sentencing the young man to 30 months in prison, including 15 months. of a reprieve. He was taken to Foix remand center to serve his sentence immediately, despite his partner’s tears in the courtroom.
A second case against a background of alcohol
The second case concerned an older man, already convicted of acts of violence against his partner, in March 2018. This did not prevent him from once again raising his hand on her, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, within the marital home. That evening, an argument broke out within the couple. He is alcoholic, he consumed several beers in the evening. He slaps her for the first time. As she tries to flee, he holds her back by grabbing her by the neck.
“I strangled her to calm her down”, he assures in court before admitting that he “loves her” and that he “simply did not want to see her go”. He will eventually give her another hard hit on the nose before she runs away and hides until the gendarmes arrive. At the helm he recognizes everything, apologizes but points to the responsibility of this woman who “pulls him down”.
Arguments “symptomatic of cases of domestic violence”, recognizes the public prosecutor, Laurent Dumaine. For the defendant’s lawyer, Me Baby, “there is a problem in these cases of domestic violence where we can no longer say anything, where we can no longer even evoke the circumstances in which they take place …”, t he pleaded. In the end, the court sentenced the man to 18 months in prison, 9 of which were suspended. A sentence that he will have to arrange with the judge of freedoms and detention.
–
