Former Canadian Judge Jacques Delisle dies at age 89

The Canadian legal world this week is remembering the complicated legacy of an octogenarian former judge who died on Friday.

Jacques Delisle, who once sat on the bench in Quebec, passed away at the age of 89, bringing an end to a complex personal story that involved murder allegations and years spent in prison, as the CBC reports.

Controversial life story

The strange trajectory of Delisle's life reached an especially contentious point in 2009, when his wife, Marie Nicole Rainville passed away.

Then 71 years of age, Rainville had been left with partial paralysis following a stroke, and she was ultimately found dead of a gunshot wound to her head.

Delisile was soon accused of murder in the death of his wife, initiating a long and arduous legal journey that would dominate many of his remaining years.

Though he admitted providing Rainville with the gun used to facilitate her death, Delisle denied firing the fatal shot.

In 2012, Delisle was convicted on a charge of first-degree murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.

Reversal of fortune

In 2021, Delisle received good news in the form of a reprieve granted by David Lametti, then serving as the federal justice minister, who demanded a retrial in light of his belief that a “miscarriage of justice likely occurred” in the case.

As the CBC reported separately, the new trial ordered by Lametti never did take place, but instead, Delisle pleaded guilty to a count of manslaughter in regard to his wife's death.

Representing Delisle at the time, lawyer Jacques Larochelle said in court earlier this year, “Delisle wants everything to end today,” though he remained in disagreement with the government's view of the facts of the case.

Though Delisle had already spent eight years and 310 days behind bars, the government requested that he spend one more day in jail as a result of the plea.

In the end, that extra day only amounted to a few hours served before Delisle was again a free man, with Larochelle declaring, “There is not this cloud over him anymore, that's certainly a relief,” though sadly, the former judge's life was already very near its end anyway.