John P. Bourcier
John P. Bourcier (March 27, 1927 – August 15, 2002) was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1995 to 2002. Born in Rhode Island, Bourcier served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and thereafter graduated from Brown University and Vanderbilt University Law School. After spending two decades as a trial lawyer in private practice, he was appointed as a judge to the Rhode Island Superior Court in 1974 and the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1995. While on the Superior Court, his decisions were upheld by the state Supreme Court 93% of the time. He gained the nickname "Maximum John" due to his tough criminal sentences, and although he was personally opposed to capital punishment, he handed out the last death sentences imposed in the state in 1976. Bourcier died of complications from cancer at the age of 75. References 1927 births 2002 deaths Military personnel from Rhode Island Brown University alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court 20th-century American judges