A twist in the case of Jacques Delisle: the 88-year-old former judge, who has proclaimed his innocence for nearly 15 years for the premeditated murder of his wife, intends to dispose of his file on Thursday, which will put an end to the proceedings judicial.
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This announcement was made by the Crown prosecutor, Mr.e François Godin, during a short hearing held before Judge Carl Thibault, at the Quebec courthouse, Wednesday morning.
Jacques Delisle’s lawyer, Me Jacques Larochelle then confirmed his client’s desire to settle this matter which must return to court Thursday morning.
It remains to be seen to which charge Jacques Delisle will plead guilty, the parties having remained silent on this aspect.
Facilitation
According to our information, this settlement results from an agreement reached following several facilitation sessions between the parties, which were held since last fall.
The facilitation process allows the parties to discuss, confidentially, to see if a negotiated agreement on the outcome of the case can be considered.
Our Bureau of Investigation also learned that these meetings were allegedly supervised by retired judge Claude C. Gagnon, a magistrate who presided over the first trial of Jacques Delisle in 2012.
- Listen to the latest explanations from journalist Kathryne Lamontagne via QUB:
End of a saga
This guilty plea will mark the end of this long legal saga, which required extraordinary resources.
“Whether for Mr. Delisle as much as for the system, it must have cost an extraordinary fortune,” calculates criminal lawyer Rénald Beaudry, emphasizing the range of procedures that took place in the Delisle affair.
Indeed, this issue has experienced many twists and turns over the years. However, a publication ban prevents us from revealing certain elements of the evidence in the file.
Let us remember, however, that Nicole Rainville, Jacques Delisle’s wife, was found lifeless in the marital condo in November 2009. From then on, Jacques Delisle maintained that his wife had taken her own life.
But the police investigation determined otherwise and the ex-judge was arrested and accused of premeditated murder in the summer of 2010. He was found guilty after a six-week jury trial, in June 2012. Delisle, who was to testify in his defense, ultimately never took the stand.
The ex-judge received a life sentence, with no possibility of parole for 25 years. He was 77 years old. And he became the very first magistrate in Canada to be convicted of the most serious charge in the Criminal Code.
- Listen to M’s legal commentarye François-David Bernier, microphone lawyer of Alexandre Dubé via
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Claiming to be the victim of a judicial error, Delisle tried to overturn the verdict before the Court of Appeal, then the Supreme Court, without success. He therefore addressed the federal Minister of Justice in 2015. After six years of investigation, convinced that a judicial error had possibly been committed in the case, Liberal Minister David Lametti ordered, in 2021, the holding of a new trial.
Jacques Delisle, who had spent the previous nine years behind bars, was released on conditions, awaiting further legal proceedings.
But the second trial will have to wait.
Stopping proceedings
First, the Delisle clan requested and obtained a stay of proceedings, in April 2022. Jacques Delisle then became free of all accusations. The Crown contested this decision and in September 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned the stay of proceedings. Jacques Delisle, thus renewing the charge of first degree murder, should be tried in a second upcoming trial.
Dissatisfied with this decision, the Delisle clan addressed the Supreme Court in November 2023. The highest court announced earlier this week that it would render its decision in the case on Thursday. He will ultimately not have to do so: Jacques Delisle withdrew his request on Wednesday.
With Pierre-Paul Biron