The charges for manslaughter targeting the actor could be dropped, because justice considers that a fetus is not a living being.
The affair moved many French people. On February 10, on a departmental road in Seine-et-Marne, Pierre Palmade, under the influence of drugs, was at the wheel of a car which hit a vehicle coming in front. In addition to the actor, the accident left three seriously injured: a 38-year-old man, his 6-year-old son and his 27-year-old sister-in-law, who lost the child she was expecting in the collision. A panel of experts has just concluded that this baby had died before birth, a source close to the investigation told France Télévisions, confirming information from the Parisian.
The information is decisive, because it means that the charges against the actor for manslaughter could no longer be brought against him. Only lawsuits for involuntary injuries would then remain. Indeed, justice considers that a fetus is not a person. “Jurisprudence is consistent and considers that since the child is not born, there cannot be a homicide offense, because there is no human person”Sophie Paricard, professor of law at the National University Institute of Albi, explained to AFP.
No external cause of the accident
“Regarding legal qualifications, there is no change at this stage”, however, specifies a source close to the matter at France Télévisions. The same source affirms that there is no external cause for the accident, according to the conclusions of the expertise.
On March 14, Pierre Palmade, indicted for homicide and involuntary injuries, was released under judicial supervision with “ban on leaving the hospital where he is” by the investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.
The artist had been placed in pre-trial detention for a time, but without having physically entered prison: suffering a stroke two weeks after the accident, he had been hospitalized. Since the beginning of June, the 55-year-old actor has been prohibited from leaving the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and is required to establish his residence in a specific location, the Melun public prosecutor’s office told AFP. His judicial control requires him to continue his treatment and prohibits him from coming into contact with the victims and driving a vehicle, according to the same source.