Clemency for woman who killed husband
François Hollande uses presidential powers to allow Jacqueline Sauvage to be released from prison
A WOMAN who murdered her abusive husband has been granted clemency, after a petition for her release received more than 400,000 signatures.
Jacqueline Sauvage was sentenced in October 2014 to 10 years in prison for shooting her husband dead after an abusive relationship that lasted 47 years.
The decision was upheld after an appeal on December 3, 2015, which said she had shot him in self-defence.
The 68-year-old, her three daughters and her son had suffered beatings, rapes and mental cruelty for years before she shot him three times in the back in 2012, killing him.
The killing took place the day after her son committed suicide.
Her 10-year sentence meant that she must serve a minimum of five years in prison, a fact that immediately sparked a campaign to free her.
On January 31, President Hollande, who like his predecessor had previously declared himself to be against presidential pardons, granted a remise gracieuse allowing Sauvage to plead for her conditional liberty.
Her solicitors have said this will be done on March 1, with a likely release date in April.
Without the intervention the earliest she would have left prison would have been 2020.
The president’s office described the case as “an exceptionally humane situation”.
While his order allows Sauvage to be freed, the remise gracieuse does not overturn or remove her conviction for murder, unlike a complete pardon.
Her daughter Carole told France Info she was “very happy” that the family was going to get their mother back.
She added that her mother had been euphoric when she heard the news.
The power of the presidency to intervene in judicial matters stems back to the monarchy.
