France Culture is offering a radiophonic reconstruction of the Procès de Patrick Henry (Trial of Patrick Henry), in the form of a fiction series available online from April 24 and broadcast on April 30 on the air, according to a press release published on Monday April 17. Written by criminal lawyer Basile Ader, in collaboration with Christian Brugerolle, this five-part program looks back on this case involving Patrick Henry, accused in 1977 of the murder of a 7-year-old boy, and what was called " death penalty trial".
Beyond defending his client, Robert Badinter (played by Jérôme Kircher), Patrick Henry's lawyer (played by actor Bastien Bouillon), leads a fight to have the death penalty abolished in France. 3 days of hearing. An unprecedented trial that took place under popular and media pressure, at a time when the death penalty was at the center of public debate.
To write this piece, Basile Ader spoke with the former Keeper of the Seals who opened his archives to him and recounted his memories. Le Procès de Patrick Henry condenses the debates that took place in January 1977 and highlights the depositions, the indictment and the pleadings that marked this extraordinary affair.
Fiction director at Radio France, Cédric Aussir proposes an original radio production of this piece, recorded in the setting of a real court, in the noise of the city.