Twenty years after his life sentence, the documentary-fiction “Marc Dutroux, a free man?” explores what a possible release of Marcinelle’s monster would entail. Victims’ families, experts and judges speak in this unique program, directed by Julie Denayer
Could Marc Dutroux, a name that has forever marked Belgium, one day regain a form of freedom? This is the question posed by the documentary-fiction “Marc Dutroux, a free man?”, presented by Julie Denayer.
The journalist explains the genesis of this unique project: “We started from this question: if Marc Dutroux were released, how would it happen? Where would he go? Could he work? Could we run into him while shopping?” The documentary thus imagines a reintegration scenario based on the real rules of conditional release in Belgium.
We didn’t want to make a simple documentary on the Dutroux affair, but really answer this question: is it possible that Dutroux will be released one day?”she specifies.
Poignant testimonies from the victims’ families
The documentary calls on the testimonies of the victims’ loved ones, who relive the traumas still very present 30 years later. “LThe difficulty is obviously to convince people to still talk about this affair, because they often wonder what new there is to say. But here, we took it from a different angle.” says the presenter. The documentary thus gives the floor to Jean-Denis Lejeune, Julie’s father, to Gino Russo, Mélissa’s father, and to Els Schreurs, the partner of Eefje Lambrecks’ father.
Among the other speakers, Christian Panier, former judge and current owner of Michelle Martin’s former home, as well as Samuel Leistedt, psychiatrist in charge of Marc Dutroux’s follow-up, offer insights into the possibility and consequences of reintegration of the former inmate.
Developments in the judicial system after the Dutroux affair
The impact of the Dutroux affair on the Belgian judicial system was profound. “The sentence enforcement court was created following the Dutroux affair and we have extended the time from which one can apply for parole“explains Julie Denayer. At the time of his crimes, Dutroux had already been incarcerated and released on parole. Following this affair, the legislation was amended to toughen the conditions of release. The experts present in the documentary, such as Jean-François Funck, president of the Brussels sentence enforcement court, or Christian Panier, former judge, explain in detail the measures put in place to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
The documentary also highlights the legal aspects surrounding this issue. In Belgium, contrary to what many think, life imprisonment does not exclude the possibility of requesting conditional release. Julie Denayer recalls: “There is a sort of legend in Belgium where it is said that life imprisonment does not exist. In fact, it’s more complicated than that. This is because the life sentence exists in Belgium. Except that the human rights convention says that it is forbidden to condemn someone forever without offering them the opportunity to apply for parole. So that means that someone who is sentenced to life imprisonment in Belgium can, from a certain given moment, make requests for conditional release, propose a reintegration plan and is evaluated by psychiatrists to see if yes or no no, this person is authorized. If not, every time they make these requests, that person could stay behind bars for life. So yes, the sentence exists for life in Belgium.
Could Justice grant a new request for conditional release? Are Belgians ready to live in a world where Dutroux circulates freely among them?. Watch the show “Marc Dutroux, a free man?”, this Tuesday, October 8 at 8:25 p.m. on RTL tvi and RTL play.
marc dutroux justice prison julie denayer
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