Ali Ben Yanes

Overview

Ali Ben Yanes was executed by guillotine on May 12, 1973. He and his cousin Hocine were agricultural workers employed in various places in the Alpes-Maritimes department.

Timeline

• 28 September 1971 — Ali Ben Yanes and his cousin Hocine broke into the home of the Marra family in Gattières; Cortena Marra and her daughter Danièle were attacked, and money was taken; the attackers escaped.
• 29 September 1972 — Their trial opened before the cour d’Assises des Alpes-Maritimes in Nice; the jury returned a verdict identical to the prosecution’s requests.
• 11 May 1973 — The execution team led by André Obrecht arrived in Marseille.
• 12 May 1973 — Ali Ben Yanes was awakened at 4:00 a.m. to be guillotined and was executed at 4:40.

Background

Ali Ben Yanes and his cousin Hocine worked as agricultural labourers, employed here and there in the Alpes-Maritimes department. They were described as cousins and were intruders in the Marra home.

The Marra family lived in Gattières and were described as maraîchers of Calabrian origin (southern Italy). Cortena Marra was pregnant with eight months at the time of the attack. Their daughter Danièle was seven years old. The father, Francisco Marra, was absent because he had gone to a flower market located not far from there. The couple’s work and reputation as market gardeners in Gattières were described.

The offence

On the evening of 28 September 1971, Ali Ben Yanes and Hocine entered the Marra residence in Gattières. Cortena Marra was alone in the kitchen with her daughter Danièle.

Ali was armed with a knife and Hocine with a small axe. Ali demanded money from Madame Marra, who initially refused to give them anything. Ali then delivered a knife blow to Madame Marra’s arm. Ali and Hocine then took Cortena and Danièle upstairs to the parents’ bedroom. Cortena Marra eventually gave them 2,000 francs.

Ali and Hocine were not satisfied and wanted more. In anger, Ali delivered a second blow to Madame Marra’s head, causing her to collapse without consciousness. Danièle, terrified by the scene, attempted to escape. Ali then attacked Danièle and immediately cut her throat. Ali then returned to Cortena, who was described as being unconscious, and stabbed her a third time in the belly. The two men ultimately fled.

Investigation

After the attack, Cortena Marra regained her senses and arrived bloodied at the neighbouring farm belonging to the Rho family, which raised the alarm. Francisco Marra arrived and found his house full of blood and the body of his daughter. Cortena Marra and the child she was carrying survived the attempt at assassination.

Ali Ben Yanes and Hocine were rapidly searched for and captured.

Trial

Nearly one year after the crime, their trial opened before the cour d’Assises des Alpes-Maritimes in Nice. The substitution of Pagès requested the death penalty for Ali, considered to be the leader, and requested life imprisonment for Hocine, for whom he argued for a mitigating circumstance. The following legal representatives were mentioned:

• the civil party lawyer Maître Pierre Pasquini, who insisted on the horror of the crime and stated there were three motives for a death sentence;
• Maître Antoine Togneli, Maître Jean Guerraz, and Maître Claude Eglie-Richters, who later sought clemency.

On 29 September 1972, the jury returned a verdict “en tous points” identical to the requisitions of the prosecution. The jury’s verdict matched the prosecution’s requests.

Sentencing

Ali Ben Yanes was sentenced to death. Hocine was sentenced to life imprisonment. The text also stated that Hocine remained in prison for more than thirty years.

Appeals and clemency

During Ali Ben Yanes’s incarceration, his application for review (pourvoi) was quickly rejected. His lawyers, Maîtres Antoine Togneli, Jean Guerraz and Claude Eglie-Richters, went to Paris to request clemency from President Pompidou, who refused the request. The text stated that this clemency was refused by the President, and it also noted “Wikipedia.org Georges Pompidou refuse sa grâce pour la troisième fois”.

Execution

Ali Ben Yanes was transferred to the Prison des Baumettes in Marseille, the regional prison where executions were carried out. During his incarceration, it was stated that the guillotine had not functioned in Marseille since 1961.

On 11 May 1973, the executioner André Obrecht arrived in Marseille with his aides. In the night, a van entered the prison, and the guillotine was erected discreetly by Obrecht’s team.

On 12 May 1973, at 4:00 a.m., Ben Yanès was awakened to be guillotined. He was offered a glass of rum, but he declined because Islam did not permit alcohol; he accepted a simple glass of water and a cigarette. His hair was cut, his arms and ankles were firmly bound, and the door opened onto a small yard. He was pushed onto the mechanism and the blade fell at 4:40.

It was stated that the execution record was posted on the prison’s front entrance door, and that Ali Ben Yanes’s body was hastily buried in a part of the cemetery Saint Pierre still kept secret, east of the city.

Other details

The text described remarks and dialogue connected to the robbery and attack. When the woman refused at first and later provided money, the following lines were included verbatim:

• "Il y en a beaucoup, je le sais !"
• "j'en veux encore "
• "Mais il n'y en a plus !"
• "Attends, arrête, maman va te chercher les sous!" After the execution, at 7:00, Francisco Marra was informed that justice had been done. He admitted regret at not having been present and also stated he had not done it himself: "coupé la tête à ce monstre".