There is no question that on April 4, 2017,  Kobili Traoré broke into the apartment of Sarah Halimi, a 65-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman in Paris, beat her, called her a demon, and threw her from the balcony of her apartment, killing her. He has confessed to the crime. But, with the aid of teams of psychiatrists, a French court has declined to prosecute him because he smoked a large amount of cannabis before the attack and suffered a “psychosis.”

The details of the case are even more shocking, as presented in the British website The JC:

In an appeals court hearing on Wednesday Traoré admitted killing Ms Halimi, saying he was not aware of his actions on the night of the murder and did not recognise when he broke in.

“I felt persecuted. When I saw the Torah and a chandelier in her home I felt oppressed. I saw her face transforming,” he said.

Sarah Halimi (source)

But in a rare turn of events, French prosecutors were divided on how to proceed.

Local prosecutors in Paris initially argued that Kobili Traoré should be put on trial for his actions. But they were opposed by the more senior procureur général, which argued Traoré should be hospitalised.

The different opinions come after separate panels of psychiatrists concluded Mr Traoré had suffered a psychotic episode after a massive use of cannabis, but disagreed over whether he was partially aware of his actions.

During an earlier hearing, Halimi family lawyer Gilles-William Goldnadel asked Traoré: “Do you think you should be tried? And get a sentence for what you have done?”

Traoré answered “yes”, but his lawyer Thomas Bidnic responded: “Since when does the accused decide if he should be tried?”

Witnesses told Wednesday’s hearing that shortly before Ms Halimi was thrown from the balcony Traoré shouted “a woman is trying to kill herself”.

Her family’s lawyers said it proved Traoré was already planning his defence.

By this logic, drunk drivers should be absolved when they injure others.

I have to wonder if the religions were reversed, would a French Jew have been held not criminally liable for killing an elderly Muslim woman.

No wonder so many French Jews are leaving.