French Court's ruling in cases of Marc Machin and Loïc Sécher

Marc Machin and Loïc Sécher have more in common than just being French.

They've both spent time in prison (seven and nine years respectively) for crimes they, and others, maintained they had never committed: Sécher for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 and Machin for the murder of a woman in 2001.

And this week, for only the sixth time since 1945 the French Court of revision annulled the original sentences.

It's only a partial victory for both men though as the Court also decided that they must face a retrial.

For Sécher it'll be his third, and although he was freed on Tuesday and is "presumed innocent" until his case is heard again, he remains on probation.

Machin, who was released in October 2008, is currently back behind bars awaiting trial on a different charge of sexual aggression.

There are parallels in the two cases, both of which perhaps highlight how reluctant the French justice system is to admit that mistakes could have been made.

Indeed the Court could have decided to acquit both men, but instead "took the path of prudence" in ordering a retrial in both cases.

Sécher was sentenced to 16 years back in 2003 for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 in the village of La Chapelle-Saint-Sauveur in Loire-Atlantique in western France.

His accuser, who has since been recognised as being "psychologically disturbed", came forward in April 2008 and in a letter to France's chief prosecutor, retracted her original statement.

"Sécher had not raped her," she wrote. "And her conscience no longer allowed her to live with the knowledge that an innocent man was sitting in prison."

In October 2008 a commission of judges (la commission de révision des condamnations pénales) decided that "a miscarriage of justice had not yet been proven", and that more evidence was required before Sécher could be released.

Machin was arrested in December 2001 for the murder of Marie-Agnès Bedot. Apparently all the evidence pointed towards him and while being questioned he admitted guilt - but later retracted his confession and claimed his innocence.

After being charged, he was put on trial and three years later found guilty and sentenced to 18 years.

In March 2008 however another man, 34-year-old David Sagno, admitted that he had murdered Bedot after turning himself in to the police and saying he needed "to ease his conscience".

Further investigation revealed that not only was Sagno's DNA found on the clothes of Bedot, but also on the clothing of another woman, Maria-Judith Araujo, who was murdered in May 2002 - in exactly the same spot.

Tuesday's historic decision - it was the first time the Court has ruled on two cases of "presumed innocence" on the same day - is perhaps proof, if it were needed, as to how slowly those proverbial wheels of French justice turn particularly in cases where the weight of evidence would appear to suggest that the original conviction was an incorrect one.

And it left the family, supporters and lawyers of both men disappointed and exasperated.

"We expected an outright quashing of the original sentence," Sécher's lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti, said after the hearing.

"But I'm completely confident of the outcome of a future trial," he added.

"For me it's obvious that he should be cleared," said Machin's father (also called Marc) of his son.

"And it's inconceivable that another trial will find him guilty," he added.

"Holding another trial is a waste of taxpayers' and public money."

The overturning of a sentence through a retrial has only taken place six times in France since 1945.

The most recent case was that of Patrick Dils, who in 1989 was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of two children.

A retrial was ordered and in 2002 he was found not guilty.