A major turnaround occurred Wednesday morning at the Quebec courthouse: after 15 years of contesting his wife’s murder charge, former judge Jacques Delisle announced his intention to plead guilty.
The formal plea is scheduled to be entered Thursday morning.
Reached by telephone, the Crown prosecutor in this case, Me Jacques Godin, confirmed that the former magistrate would thus put an end to years of criminal proceedings, but did not reveal to which charge he would plead guilty, nor if a suggested sentence would be offered to the judge. .
Agreements are often negotiated between defense lawyers and Crown prosecutors: the accused agrees to plead guilty to a less serious charge, the trial is avoided and a sentence is suggested to the judge, who is not obliged to do so. accept.
Jacques Delisle fought the murder charge on every level.
Found guilty in 2012 by a jury of the first degree murder of Nicole Rainville, which occurred in 2009, he was then sentenced to life in prison. He went to the Court of Appeal on more than one occasion, to the Supreme Court, and even obtained a second trial from the federal Minister of Justice before requesting a stay of proceedings.
A Supreme Court judgment on his case is also due to be delivered on Thursday.
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