KEY POINTS:
GRENOBLE, France - Former French rugby captain Marc Cecillon has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his wife in a drunken rage at a party.
Cecillon, 47, who won 46 caps for France, has admitted shooting his wife Chantal with a Magnum revolver in August 2004 in front of some 60 party guests.
Prosecutor Francoise Pavan-Dubois told the court Cecillon had planned to kill his wife and had not acted on the spur of the moment.
"He could get life in prison, but I am seeking far less than that asking for 15 years," she said. The jury, which determines sentence as well as guilt or innocence in French criminal cases, decided on a harsher sentence of 20 years.
One of his daughters made a tearful plea for leniency to the court in the southeastern city of Grenoble.
Cecillon said he would accept whatever sentence was handed down and begged forgiveness.
"I want to ask for my wife's forgiveness again, for she supported me throughout my career," he told the court. "I know that that will not bring her back but I am the first to be punished by that."
Cecillon told the court this week he suffered severe psychological problems after quitting rugby, and was prone to heavy drinking, bouts of violence and jealous rages.
The case has raised questions about what help is available to professional sportsmen when they stop playing.
- REUTERS
