The end for Fabrice A.?

A look at the news - Loris S. Musumeci

The «Fabrice A.» case continues to send shivers down the spine. The psychopath in question had slit the throat of his social therapist, Adeline, on September 12, 2013. After a first judgment cancelled in last January for «an obvious bias against the defendant», according to the defense, the second trial was held last week.

The situation is as delicate and appalling as ever. While the psychiatric experts have testified to the possibility of long-term change for Fabrice A., the plaintiff continues to drag along his suffering and insatiability. A thirst for justice obliges. The verdict is expected on Wednesday.

But what really lies behind this horrific case? The defense’s argumentative failures. Its goal, in principle, was to prove that the murder had not been premeditated. However, the constant contradictions in the defendant’s statements blocked that path. By repeatedly recounting his plans to murder the woman who embodied his most raw sexual fantasy, and then shifting to the role of a victim of his mental illness, the defendant lost all credibility. His attorney, Maître Arnold, then argued that a life sentence of involuntary commitment was unnecessary. «The courage in this case lies not in imposing a life sentence of involuntary commitment, but rather in not imposing it,» he dared to say.

And Fabrice A.«s difficult childhood, which today deserves a glimmer of hope, despite the crime committed. »He knows that the chances of not ending his life in prison are almost nil, but don't put out the fuse."

Stories of child trauma and wicks failed to move us. Maître Ntah, lawyer for Adeline's family, was much clearer in his remarks: «Fabrice A. is monstrously cruel and will never change», after recalling that, premeditation or not, the murderer is in any case «guilty of having taken pleasure in watching her [Adeline] die.»

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