Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a substantial settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement, announced in a joint statement by the three parties, aims to help Paquin move forward from the challenging period in his life.
Initially found guilty in 1983 of two first-degree murder charges related to the deaths of Ronald Bourgouin and Sylvie Revah in 1978, Paquin served 18 years in prison before being released on full parole in 2001 under strict conditions that lasted for the next 23 years. Following a retrial order by the federal justice minister in 2024 due to new case information suggesting a possible miscarriage of justice, Paquin, now 83, was acquitted on Nov. 6, 2024.
Paquin credited his acquittal to the diligent work of his lawyers from Projet Innocence Québec, who uncovered evidence challenging the credibility of key witness Bernard Provençal, a prominent police informant pivotal in Paquin’s conviction.
Represented by legal professionals from Woods LLP, Paquin filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec, alleging misconduct by various agencies, including the Montreal police, Sûreté du Québec, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office. The lawsuit claimed that authorities were aware of the false nature of the informant’s testimony and that any physical evidence tying Paquin to the crime was either falsified or tampered with.
Describing the case as not just a miscarriage of justice but a “stolen life” marked by an extended wrongful imprisonment, Paquin’s legal team emphasized the unprecedented duration of his unjust confinement in Quebec. Although the lawsuit originally sought damages exceeding $89 million, the final settlement amount remained undisclosed due to a confidentiality provision in the agreement.
With the lawsuit resolved outside the courtroom, the parties involved refrained from further commentary, maintaining that the settlement concluded the matter without judicial scrutiny.