France's top court upholds ruling that Alban Gervaise's killer lacks criminal responsibility
The Cour de cassation dismissed Christelle Gervaise's appeal against the decision that Mohamed L. is penally irresponsible for the 2022 murder of her husband, Alban Gervaise.
In a case stemming from a 2022 stabbing outside a Catholic school in Marseille, the Cour de cassation has refused the cassation request lodged by Christelle Gervaise. The appeal contested the earlier ruling that declared the perpetrator, Mohamed L., penally irresponsible. The supreme court's rejection upholds the appellate court's decision, which was based on three psychiatric evaluations indicating that Mohamed L. lacked discernment during the attack due to a possible onset of schizophrenia and chronic cannabis consumption.
Following his internment in a psychiatric facility in June 2025, he has been allowed to return home in the evenings and on weekends. Christelle Gervaise now urges legislators to amend the law governing criminal irresponsibility.
