Displaying items by tag: guilty verdict

In a landmark case in Avignon, 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot and fifty co-defendants have been found guilty of mass rape against his wife Gisele over a decade. Dominique, who admitted to drugging and allowing strangers to abuse his wife while filming the assaults, was sentenced to twenty years in prison, with no parole until two-thirds of the sentence is served. Other defendants received sentences ranging from four to eighteen years. Gisele, who waived her anonymity, demanded the horrifying footage be shown in court, stating, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong. They are the ones who must be ashamed.’ Her courage has made her a feminist icon in France, inspiring other survivors to speak out. Supporters cheered as guilty verdicts were announced. The trial, which saw Gisele face her abusers in court, has shaken the nation. Her children stood by her during the proceedings, underscoring the profound impact of her resilience on justice and awareness.

From Minnesota to New York to Florida, Americans triumphantly flooded streets to celebrate and mark the moment when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (a white man) was convicted of the murder of George Floyd (a black man). After Floyd allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill in May 2020, he was seen on video being pinned to the ground by Chauvin's knee for more than nine minutes. After the verdict, in New York a dozen police officers closely followed a group who at one point stopped in the middle of an intersection and knelt down. ‘One conviction is not enough,’ a man said over a loudspeaker as horns honked. Protesters held up signs reading, ‘Justice for George Floyd is no more cop terror’, and ‘This isn’t justice, but it’s a start.’