A 43-year-old farmer, who had uttered racist insults towards a motorist of African origin before hitting him with his tractor, was sentenced to one year in prison by the criminal court of Roanne (Loire), Wednesday, February 2. The prosecution had requested 18 months in prison.
The man, who was found guilty of “wilful violence with a weapon by destination, driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing to submit to an alcohol test and public insult on the basis of race, ethnicity or origin” , was imprisoned in the detention center of La Talaudière, at the end of his judgment in immediate appearance.
An already heavy criminal record
Saturday, January 29, while he was alcoholic, this farmer from Pouilly-les-Nonains (Loire) attacked twice the victim who was helping one of his neighbors to move. After jeering at her with “dirty nigger” type insults, he passed her a little later on a road and rammed her German brand sedan with his tractor, despite a maneuver by the motorist to try to avoid shock.
At the hearing, the defense pleaded the involuntary accident on the part of this forties whose criminal record already included 14 convictions for traffic offenses, driving without a license and in an alcoholic state, refusal to comply and violence.