Former Quebec judge pleads guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife

After nearly 15 years of legal battles, Jacques Delisle, a former judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife.

Appearing in a Quebec City court room on Thursdaywearing a mask, Delisleapproached the stand and accepted the plea.

"Delisle wants everything to end today," said his lawyer, Jacques Larochelle.

Larochellesaid whilethey agreed to the plea, partiesdisagreed on the facts, as the Crown maintained thatDelisle took an active part in the death of his wife.

Taking into consideration that Delisle served eight years and 310 days in prison, his lawyers have agreed to the Crown's request thatDelislespend onemore day incarcerated.

Following a pause, the judgesentenced Delisle to one day in jail, saying that itensures that thetime healready served can be taken into consideration in his sentence.

Delislehobbled out of the room and muttered "oh no" as he washandcuffed by police.

Speaking with reporters, Larochelleclarified that although Delisle is sentenced to one day in jail, he will only serve a few hours and will be released later today. Shortly after 3 p.m.,Delise left the courthouse a free man.

'This case, somewhere, sometime,has to come to an end': Crown

Larochelle said he initially suggested a charge of assisting suicide, which he thought was more appropriate, but he says it was not accepted "for reasons that are beyond my comprehension."

"In the end, it comes to the same result," said Larochelle.

"There is not this cloud over him anymore, that's certainly a relief."

Noah Weisbord, associate professor of criminal law at McGillUniversity, says aiding someone to commitsuicide is illegal in Canada but "doesn't have the moral opprobrium that manslaughter does."

"Assisted suicide has less of a stigma, so it looks like you're doing something that's somewhat justifiable ... If the person really was in pain, for example," said Weisbord.

Crown prosecutor Franois Godin said he accepted the manslaughter plea but would not accept the plea of assisted suicide because he says "that's not what happened."

"We still believe Mr. Delisle would have been found of first-degree murder if he would have stood trial," said Godin.

"This case, somewhere, sometime, has to come to an end. It's been 15 years, he spent almost nineyears in prison, 88 years old.We do not believe he would have been able to stand trial."

'There's no winner,' says criminal defence lawyer

Criminal defence lawyer Rnald Beaudry,who was at the court house on Thursday, agrees.He was pleased to witness the end of what has been along legal battle.

"Even members of the public were starting to say 'leave him alone, he's 88 years old, [he spent] nineyears in prison, so we can move on.' So I suppose that also weighed on the prosecution," said Beaudry.

"There's no winner, not the family, not the prosecution. The only winner is the legal system, which has finally found asolution after 15 years. It's been very long, it's been very costly."

James Lockyer, director of Innocence Canada, says Delisle's reputation was "excellentuntil all this happened."

Lockyer took on the former judge's case in 2014, when Delisle had lost all his appeals, helping bring hisapplication to the federal justice minister.

Lockyer, whois still connected with Delisle's family and lawyer, says it may have been difficult for Delisle to make the decision to take a plea, but he likely did it to be able to live out his last days "in peace."

"Whilst today has an unsatisfactory tinge to it, it's nevertheless a day that enables Mr. Delisle and his family to get back to normalcy," said Lockyer.

"I think it's very understandable what he did today It's been an awful experience for them."

WATCH| How Jacques Delisle went fromjudge to convicted killer:

Former Quebec judge pleads guilty to manslaughter, ending 15-year legal battle

6 months ago

Duration 1:07

Jacques Delisle accepted the manslaughter plea in the death of his wife, 71-year-old Marie Nicole Rainville. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012, and spent nine years in prison.

New trial ordered after nearly 9 years in prison for Delisle

In his first trial in 2012, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of his wife, 71-year-old Marie Nicole Rainville, who died in 2009.

Rainville, who had been partially paralyzed due to a stroke, died of a gunshot to the head. Delisle's first trial hinged on detailed forensic analysis over whether she had taken her own life orhe had killed her.

Delisle, now 88, said he gave her the gun, but he denied shooting her.Delisle had maintained his innocence.

After spendingnearly nine years in prison, hewas then awarded another trial when the federal justice minister, David Lametti, said that a "miscarriage of justice likely occurred" in part because one of the Crown's experts made serious mistakes in the original pathology report that led to Delisle's conviction.

However, the report submitted to Lametti and obtained by Radio-Canada, did not reveal any miscarriage of justice. The document, which has been under a publication ban until now, said Delisle's defence strategy which included a decision not to have him testify was a risky one which, in the end, did not serve him well.

Delisle's second trial was also plagued by delays. He was first awarded a stay of proceedings in 2022 by a Quebec Superior Court judge, but then ordered to go ahead with the trial when the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned that decision. He has been walking free awaiting a decision on the second trial.

The Supreme Court of Canada was slated to announce whether it would hear the case on Thursday, but on Wednesday, the supreme court withdrew the case following a discontinuance notice by Delisle's team.