The murderer, under the influence of an illicit substance, was immediately sent to a mental institution, not to prison. Who decided that? Usually, a person arrested after a crime and found to be "under the influence" is arrested, placed in a cell to
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A psychotic episode?
Four years ago, Halimi was fast asleep when Traoré broke into her apartment in the middle of the night, tortured her for 20 minutes and then threw her off her third-floor balcony.
During the attack, neighbors said they heard Traoré scream
Allahu akbar, the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” He also reportedly shouted, “I killed the devil.”
Traoré confessed to Halimi’s murder, but his lawyers argued that he couldn’t be tried because he was suffering from a psychotic episode after smoking a large amount of marijuana.
A court agreed, and earlier this month, the decision was upheld by the Court of Cassation, France’s highest appeals court. Traoré is currently in a psychiatric institution.
Associated Press
PARIS Protesters in Paris and other French cities on Sunday denounced a ruling by France’s highest court that the killer of Jewish woman Sarah Halimi was not criminally responsible and therefore could not go on trial.
Thousands of people filled Trocadero Plaza in Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower, answering a call by Jewish associations and groups fighting antisemitism who say that justice has not been done. Other protests took place in Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and elsewhere.
The announcement that the killer would not be sent to trial sparked outrage among the French and international Jewish community.
France’s highest court found that a man who threw his Jewish neighbour out a window was “in a delirious state” from heavy marijuana use when he killed her.
Outrage in France As Jewish Woman s Killer Spared Trial Despite Anti-Semitic Motives ibtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ibtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.