Mrs.Bayer
CLU4M
Monday September 30, 2013
Wrongful Conviction: Gilles LeClair
1. What was the crime(s) that the individual was convicted of? Where and when did this happen? Who was the victim (name and relation, if any, to the accused)? The crime that Gillles LeClair was convicted of is second degree murder. The crime took place in Ottawa, Ontario and it happened on August 13,2003. The victim of this crime was Beverley LeClair. The relation she had to Gilles LeClair is they are spouses.
2. What was the individual's sentence and how much of the sentence did he serve before being released?
Gilles Leclair did not get sentenced. The police just charged with second degree murder. The Crown abandoned the case after two independent pathologists who reviewed the death said they couldn't be sure her death wasn't an accidental drowning. They pointed to the fact that there were no marks on her neck to indicate strangulation. Mr. Leclair did spent a month in provincial jail at Innes Road, where, he recalled, he was treated worse than the neighbour's dog.
3. What factors led to the individual's wrongful conviction? (ie. Why do you think the person was convicted of a crime he did not commit?)
The factors that led Gilles LeClair to be charged of this crime and be sent to court was Ottawa police Det. John Monette had two main things to go on: a pathologist, who performed the autopsy and said Bev Leclair didn't drown by accident in their backyard pool; and that Mr. Leclair, a 57-year-old pub manager, spent too much time at work and not enough at home. Det. Monette had himself heard that complaint all the time at home. The Ottawa police detective usually worked cold cases. Just two days before Mrs. Leclair drowned in her pool in August 2003, police found the body of Ardeth Wood after she had gone missing along the Rockcliffe Parkway. That meant just about every talented homicide detective