La rétention de sûreté en France : une défense sociale en trompe-l'œil (ou les habits neufs de l'empereur)

Abstract

Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis * Cet article a été finalisé en décembre 2009, soit avant la promulgation de la loi du 10 mars 2010, qui ne fait dès lors pas l'objet d'une analyse approfondie.

Foucault, prison, and human rights: A dialectic of theory and criminal justice reform

“…Nowadays, critics have further accused Ancel of laying the groundwork for the most illiberal reform in modern French criminal law—the loi de rétention de sûreté passed under conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 (Danet, 2008; Dreyfus, 2010; Wyvekens, 2010). This controversial legislation applies to persons convicted of various violent or sexual crimes, from murder to pedophilia, determined to present a high risk of recidivism due to a mental disorder.…”

“…Numerous jurists denounced the legislation as a regression defying fundamental principles of criminal law (Commission Cotte, 2015; Contrôleur général, 2015; Dreyfus, 2010; Wyvekens, 2010). The French Constitutional Court nonetheless upheld it, partly on the ground that it was not a criminal punishment since it aimed to treat deranged persons.…”

“…Thus, some claim that Ancel influenced Sarkozy’s repressive legislation (Danet, 2008), although this is doubtful (Dreyfus, 2010; Sizaire, 2017; Wyvekens, 2010). Sarkozy (2007) endorsed the permanent incapacitation, vilification, and dehumanization of “predators”, whereas Ancel’s career focused on defending prisoners’ human rights and opportunity for rehabilitation so that they may reenter society.…”

Understanding the Sentencing Process in France

“…And you, as magistrats, you work for them first and foremost" (Robert-Diard 2012). As a result, his crime policy has been criticized for too closely reflecting high-profile crime stories (Salas 2005;Garapon and Salas 2007;Mucchielli 2008;Wyvekens 2010). Referring to crime policy reform between 2002, Mucchielli (2008 describes a "security frenzy."…”

“…These laws have been denounced as "confusing mental illness and criminality, dangerousness and recidivism" (Herzog-Evans 2011, p. 100). When these two conflicting notions of responsibility are mixed together-criminal culpability and mental illness-the responses of treatment and of punishment also risk being confused: offenders are treated and the mentally ill are punished (Wyvekens 2010). The effects of these new legal provisions and the number of people affected are not yet known, as they apply to offenders sentenced to long periods of imprisonment (e.g., over 15 years for the retention de sûreté ) toward the end of their sentence.…”