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"A French prisoner accused of killing and devouring part of his cellmate's lung ripped out the organ and started his grisly snack while the victim was still alive."

It's Nicholas Cocaign, the world's worst cellmate.

After the argument [over the toilet] escalated to blows, the real-life Hannibal Lecter allegedly butchered his cellmate, carved out his victim's lung - mistaking it for the heart - and fried up part of the organ with onions on a makeshift grill before eating it....

The case has drawn scrutiny to the entire French penal system. It comes on the heels of last week's ruling by a tribunal in favor of 38 inmates and former inmates who sued over inhumane conditions at the same Rouen jail where Baudry was killed. The court ordered the French government to pay $430 to $21,500 dollars to each plaintiff, Agence France-Presse reported.

Cocaign himself testified Monday that the murder was a cry for help - and not just from the victim.

Cocaign said he warned prison officials that he was capable of violence, begging to be transferred for psychiatric treatment as he served time for several rapes, among other crimes.

"No one was listening to me," Cocaign told the court, according to the AFP. "I made several appeals for help, saying I was a man capable of being dangerous. I took action, and then they took me seriously."

The French government actually is responsible for the murder because...
	A loud argument was not stopped before it escalated to violence.
	A man who needed psychiatric treatment was instead housed with other prisoners.
	They allowed cooking equipment and ingredients in the cell.
	"Butchered"? "Carved"? They let him have a weapon!
	France doesn't have the death penalty.
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A few more details here. The weapon allowed in the cell was a pair of scissors. Cocaign was not in prison for murdering anyone. He was only facing a charge of armed robbery charges. There were onions, olive oil, salt and pepper on a portable camping stove in the cell. Cocaign "initially claimed that he was fascinated by the 'inner workings of Baudry's personality' and 'wanted to take his soul', he later admitted that he was 'curious to see what he tastes like.'"

Full post as published by Althouse on June 23, 2010 (boomark / email).