Hollande waives prison for abused woman who shot husband

A Frenchwoman imprisoned for shooting dead her husband after almost 50 years years of rape and incest has been granted a rare presidential pardon by the French leader.

The woman was identified as Jacqueline Sauvage who was victimized by her husband for decades, Boston Globe reported.

Sauvage’s case had become a cause celebre in France, with more than 400,000 people signing a petition demanding her release.

Ms Sauvage, from near Montargis, 60 miles south of Paris, had twice been convicted by juries of murdering her husband, Norbert Marot, in 2012. The ruling has been a win for campaigners who are calling for the government to allow self defence rights for victims of abuse.

The pardon means that Jacqueline will have a reduction in her sentence that will allow her to seek parole immediately.

The decision came two days after Mr Hollande met Sauvage’s three adult daughters.

“I’m overwhelmed, happy, grateful, relieved”, said Eva Darlan, founder of an advocacy group for Sauvage.

The group Osez le Feminisme (Dare To Be Feminist) has urged the expansion of the definition for “female victims of violence”. But the appeal court jury decided her actions were “disproportionate” because her life had not been in danger at the time. “We were left (feeling) naked”, one daughter, Fabienne Marot, said tearfully after the verdict. Another described her father’s death as a “relief”.

During his election campaign in 2012, Mr Hollande had suggested he would not use presidential pardons, saying they belonged to “a different concept of power”.

He has used the power only once, when he freed convicted bank robber Philippe El Shennawy – who had spent 38 years behind bars – in 2014.