Lawyer Richard Dubé, a criminal defense lawyer in Quebec for almost 40 years and co-author of the television series “Indefensible,” died suddenly last Saturday at the age of 66.
It was the production house Pixcom that announced the sad news in a press release late on Sunday evening. Because Me Dubé was the creator of Indefensible, a daily legal series produced by Pixcom and broadcast on the TVA network, which he co-wrote with his wife, producer Izabel Chevrier. She stated that her “lover” died of a heart attack.
“We have formed a team that is united at heart. A part of my heart died with him. Richard was so happy. He had finally realized a big dream: to proudly complete 40 years of criminal law practice and become an author. And he did it with as much success as his departure,” she wrote in a touching message posted on her Facebook page.
For its part, the Pixcom team was saddened by the loss of an “extraordinary being” and a friend.
“He was unifying, courageous, creative and always managed to surprise us. He discovered the world of actors and television with passion and knew how to be present for everyone on every stage. We will miss his passion and his creativity, but it is his presence in our lives that will leave the greatest void,” said Pixcom President Nicola Merola and actor and animator Charles Lafortune, also vice president of content and creation at the production house. The actors Sébastien Delorme, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé and Michel Laperrière are part of the main cast of the series “Indefensible”, which tells all the twists and turns of the criminal cases of a group of criminal defense lawyers.
Me Dubé has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1984 and is a well-known litigator. Me Dubé has acted as defense attorney in numerous trials for serious crimes such as murder, fraud and drug trafficking. Part of his work also took place internationally: in 2013 he was registered as a public defender at the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands. From 2003 to 2009, he also served as senior counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Arusha, Tanzania. He represented a Rwandan accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Justice columnist Claude Poirier responded to the news of his death on Monday, calling him “one of the great criminal defense lawyers I had the pleasure of working with for many years.” »
“We regretfully pay tribute to this man who has left no one indifferent, both for his impressive career as a criminal defense lawyer and for his new career as an author, but above all for his constant determination to spread the truth both in court and on television. “ » added MM. Merola and M. Lafortune.
Me Dubé got his first taste of television production when he appeared in front of the camera in the documentary Murderers on Measure, broadcast in 2019, which focused on the dark affair surrounding the murder of Sandra Gaudet in Abitibi.