MONTREAL \u2014 A retired Quebec judge who says he was wrongfully convicted of murdering his disabled wife has failed in an attempt to be freed from prison while the verdict is reviewed. Lawyers for Jacques D\u00e9lisle, an 81-year-old former justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal, have presented new ballistic evidence, which they say indicates the gunshot that killed Nicole Rainville was self-inflicted.<\/p>\n
D\u00e9lisle, who chose not to testify at his jury trial in 2012, is serving a life sentence. He filed a sworn statement in which he said he gave his partially paralyzed wife the loaded revolver when she begged him to help her end her life. But he said he left their apartment before she pulled the trigger on Nov. 12, 2009.<\/p>\n
After failing to have the verdict overturned on appeal, D\u00e9lisle has made a last-ditch attempt for a new trial under a section of the Criminal Code that allows the federal justice minister to intervene on the grounds of \u201cmiscarriage of justice.\u201d He was hoping to be set free while the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Conviction Review Group carries out its lengthy investigation.<\/p>\n
Justice Beno\u00eet Moulin of Quebec Superior Court ruled Wednesday that the new evidence does not meet the test required to justify his release: it is insufficient to conclude that \u201cserious concerns\u201d have been raised about the accuracy and reliability of the verdict.<\/p>\n
Moulin acknowledged that D\u00e9lisle, with no prior record or risk of re-offending, is not a danger to the public. But he said he has been found guilty of first-degree murder, and the defence failed to persuade him that its new evidence would lead to an acquittal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn these circumstances, the confidence of the public in the administration of justice requires that Mr. D\u00e9lisle continue to serve his sentence,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
The Crown\u2019s position is that the trajectory of the bullet and the location of gunpowder traces on Rainville\u2019s hand are incompatible with her firing the gun. Ballistic experts testifying on D\u00e9lisle\u2019s behalf suggest a different trajectory, and contend that the death was likely suicide.<\/p>\n
Moulin said the Crown and defence ballistic experts are in disagreement, but none of them excludes the possibility of a homicide. And he noted that the jury was not motivated by ballistic evidence alone. It also was influenced by D\u00e9lisle\u2019s behaviour after his wife\u2019s death and by testimony that he was planning to leave her to live with his mistress.<\/p>\n
D\u00e9lisle\u2019s decision not to testify in his defence surprised observers at the time, and now he says it was because his family did not want it known that he had aided in his wife\u2019s suicide.<\/p>\n
He admits in his statement that he lied to police when he claimed it was Rainville who fetched his loaded gun. In his sworn statement, D\u00e9lisle says he placed the gun on a table in front of Rainville but asked her to reconsider.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last thing I said to her: \u2018Think of us. Give it serious thought. I love you,\u2019 \u201d he said.<\/p>\n
By: GRAEME HAMILTON<\/p>\n
Source: \u00a0OttawaCitizen.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"