News Releases

Quebec Region

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INMATE DEATH AT COWANSVILLE INSTITUTION

Cowansville, Quebec, August 31, 2011 –On August 31, 2011, Paul Tessier, an inmate at Cowansville Institution, a medium-security federal penitentiary located in Cowansville, was found unconscious. Institutional staff performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. The inmate was taken to the Brome-Missisquoi-PerkinsHospital where he was pronounced dead. He died of apparent natural causes.

Tessier (61) had been serving a sentence of two years and six months for assault with a weapon and break and enters since 2010. His next of kin have been notified of his death.

As in all cases involving an inmate death, the police and the coroner were called in to investigate. The Correctional Service of Canada will also review the circumstances surrounding the incident.

For more information, media representatives may contact:
Charles Brouillard, Security Intelligence Officer
Correctional Service of Canada, Cowansville Institution
Telephone: 450-263-3073, ext. 2682