Mr. Merah had a long police record, with 15 arrests during his youth for pettycrimes, French officials said.
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2.
Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon said prisons would not be effective while they were "crammed full of people serving short, meaningless sentences for pettycrimes".
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3.
He had a prior record of pettycrimes committed when he was under 18 and is known to have been rebellious in his youth, but was not known to French security services, Molins said.
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