Moments after being acquitted of two counts of first-degree murder, Claude Paquin told the Quebec Superior Court judge that he was finally able to escape the hell he has been living in for more than 40 years.
“I now have total freedom,” Paquin, 81, told a group of reporters at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday.
His acquittal brought an end to his decades-long fight to prove his innocence that featured multiple twists, including the now-discredited testimony of a police informant.
His court victory comes just months after federal Justice Minister Arif Virani ordered his second trial. That decision was based on new information in the case which, according to the minister, showed that a “miscarriage of justice likely occurred.”
In light of this new evidence, the Crown prosecutor announced on Wednesday it would not pursue the second trial.