PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "As part of the life sentences he received in the double murder case, he was required to serve 25 years behind bars before he would become eligible for full parole, but in 1999 his period of parole ineligibility was reduced to 15 years. He was granted full parole in 2003. According to a decision made by the Parole Board of Canada in 2017 to modify one of the conditions imposed on Paquin when he was granted parole, he was part of a gang that operated in eastern Montreal and was run by members of the Provençal crime family. The parole board noted back then that Paquin denied being involved in the murders, but he admitted he knew they had been carried out, was aware of the motive behind them “and assumed some of the responsibility for them.”
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STORY: "Man convicted of double murder in 1983 is acquitted 41 years later," by Crime Reporter Paul Cherry, published by The Montreal Gazette, on November 6, 2024.
SUB-HEADING: "Crown announces it will not pursue a second trial against Claude Paquin after federal Justice Minister Arif Virani "determined that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred."
GIST: “A man who was convicted of a double slaying in 1983 learned on Wednesday that the Crown will not pursue a second trial against him.
“You have just removed me from my hell,” Claude Paquin, 82, told Superior Court Justice Lyne Décarie after she declared that he was acquitted of the first-degree murders of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Reva
Paquin also thanked the judge during the very brief hearing at the Montreal courthouse Wednesday morning.
“I think today will change my life, I think, I believe,” Paquin told a reporter with Le Journal de Montréal as he was heading into the courtroom.
The newspaper had published several articles about his case recently telling his side of the story.
“At my age, I just want a normal life. I can be free. This has been 41 years. That is a lot of time.”
Décarie made the decision after a prosecutor announced that, based on new evidence, the Crown would not proceed with a new trial involving the two homicides.
“The (justice) minister is no longer convinced that there exists a reasonable perspective of a conviction. So, under the circumstances, the minister will not present evidence in the case,” a prosecutor told Décarie before the judge made the decision to acquit.
In April, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani announced he was ordering a new trial for Paquin under the conviction review provisions of the Criminal Code.
“The minister of justice has determined that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred. This determination is a result of the identification of new and significant information that was not submitted to the courts at the time of Mr. Paquin’s trial or appeal, calling into question the overall fairness of the process. The minister’s decision to order a new trial is not a decision about the guilt or innocence of Mr. Paquin. It is a decision to return the matter to the courts where the relevant legal issues may be determined according to the law,” Virani wrote in a statement months ago.
The “new and significant information” that Virani based his decision on reportedly involved Bernard Provençal, a notorious organized-crime figure who became an informant during the early 1980s and testified in Paquin’s trial four decades ago. Provençal, the most important witness in the trial, alleged that Paquin plotted the murders with another man — who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1983 trial — and that the homicides were carried out in the basement of Paquin’s home in Rivière-des-Prairies.
Thirteen years later, Provençal recanted his testimony in an affidavit and said Paquin had nothing to do with the homicides.
“I have learned that hate destroys,” Paquin said on Wednesday when he was asked if he holds any ill will against Provençal.
“Just the fact that you are free. … Freedom is a lot.”
During the trial in 1983, a jury was told that Bourgouin was killed because he did something that upset a gang of drug traffickers and Revah happened to be present when he was taken away to be killed.
Paquin was convicted of playing a role in the homicides along with three other men.
He was already in a federal penitentiary when he was charged with the murders. In 1981, he was sentenced to a 12-year prison term for armed robbery, using a firearm to commit a crime and possession of stolen goods.
As part of the life sentences he received in the double murder case, he was required to serve 25 years behind bars before he would become eligible for full parole, but in 1999 his period of parole ineligibility was reduced to 15 years. He was granted full parole in 2003.
According to a decision made by the Parole Board of Canada in 2017 to modify one of the conditions imposed on Paquin when he was granted parole, he was part of a gang that operated in eastern Montreal and was run by members of the Provençal crime family.
The parole board noted back then that Paquin denied being involved in the murders, but he admitted he knew they had been carried out, was aware of the motive behind them “and assumed some of the responsibility for them.”
The decision also noted how by 2017, Paquin was involved in Project Innocence, a group that supported his effort to clear his name."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
