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Prosecutor Urges New Trial as Court Reviews Dany Leprince Conviction

The review could open a new trial before a jury court if judges find a truly new fact that casts doubt on the 1997 verdict.

Overview

  • Dany Leprince’s bid for revision, which reached the Cour de révision Thursday, opened at 9 a.m., paused at midday, and is now headed to deliberations.
  • The advocate general of the Cour de cassation, Jean‑Michel Aldebert, called for fresh adversarial debates because the case file now includes new and previously unknown elements.
  • The court’s investigating commission highlighted a 2023 reconstruction that may clash with parts of daughter Célia Leprince’s account of the night of the killings.
  • A separate judicial inquiry lists ex‑wife Martine Compain as a témoin assisté, a status between witness and suspect that allows questioning under caution.
  • Revisions of assize‑level convictions are exceptional in France, with about a dozen granted since 1945, so any annulment here would be rare and would send the case to a new trial.