Ex-Quebec judge Jacques Delisle, convicted of murder, denied bail

Jacques Delisle, the retired Quebec Court of Appeal judgeconvicted in 2012 for the 2009 killing of his wife, Nicole Rainville,will stay in prison as he waits to hear if his case will be reopened.

Delisle isthe only judge in Canada to have gone to prison for first-degree murder.

He received an automatic life sentence.

Delisle has already exhausted all legal avenues afterappealinghis convictionto the Supreme Court, which refused to hear his case.

His last recourse is a direct appeal to the federal justice ministerfor a ministerial review, which was submitted in the spring of 2015.

If the review is successful,Delisle'scase could be sent back to the Quebec Court of Appeal or a new trial could be set.

While waiting for the minister's decision, Delisle applied to be released from prison.

• Watch the fifth estate: Murder and the Judge

Wife died from gunshot

The decision on whether to release Delislehinges on the testimony of forensic experts who dispute exactly howRainville died.

Dr. Andr Bourgault, a pathologistwho testified for the prosecution at Delisle's trial, said the shot that killed Rainville was fired at an angle consistent with someone standing above the disabled woman, holding a gun to the front of her head.

However, Dr. MichaelShkrum, an Ontario pathologist called to testify at Delisle'sOctober bail hearing, told the courthe believes the gun that killed Rainville was shot at a 90-degree angle, whichsupports the theory that Delisle'swife committed suicide.

Under cross-examination,Shkrumdid notexcludethe possibility that someone other than Rainville herself may have fired the shot that killed her.

Since Delisle's conviction in 2012, he has continued to insist he is innocent.

In a decision on the bail application Wednesday, Quebec Superior Court JusticeBenotMoulinsaid that the experttestimony suggests different hypotheses, butnone of it rules out the possibility thatRainvillewas the victim of a homicide.

He also saidthat expert testimony was not the sole deciding factor in finding Delisle guilty in the first place.

"The additional information submitted in the context of the present request doesn't raise serious concerns about the accuracy of the verdictand raises even fewerconcerns about its reliability," he wrote.