Claude Paquin, a man from Quebec who was wrongly convicted of a double murder and later acquitted after 41 years, has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Montreal and the provincial government. The agreement was announced by all three parties in a joint statement on Friday, aiming to help Paquin move on from this challenging period in his life without a lengthy trial.
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 parole in 2001 under strict conditions, which continued for the next 23 years. In 2024, the federal justice minister ordered a new trial due to emerging information suggesting a potential miscarriage of justice, leading to Paquin’s acquittal on November 6, 2024, at the age of 83.
Paquin credited his legal team from Projet Innocence Québec for his acquittal, highlighting the questionable credibility of key witness Bernard Provençal, a prominent police informant whose testimony played a crucial role in the case against him.
Represented by lawyers from Woods LLP, Paquin filed a civil lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court in May 2025 against the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Quebec, alleging misconduct by law enforcement agencies and the prosecution. The lawsuit contended that authorities were aware of the false testimony provided by the informant and suggested that incriminating physical evidence against Paquin had been either falsified or tampered with.
Describing the case as not just a miscarriage of justice but as a tale of a life stolen and an unjustifiably prolonged imprisonment, Paquin’s legal team sought damages exceeding $89 million. However, the specific settlement amount remained undisclosed due to a confidentiality clause in the agreement, with all parties refraining from further comments as the lawsuit was resolved outside the courtroom without undergoing a trial.