That man had a plan...

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-08-26 08:57am

He had a plan...

Plan Cited in Geoghan Slaying
D.A. Says Killing of Ex-Priest Was a Month in the Making

By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 26, 2003; Page A02

BOSTON, Aug. 25 -- The killing of convicted child molester and former priest John J. Geoghan in a Massachusetts prison over the weekend was planned for at least a month and carried out by an inmate who appears to have acted alone, according to the prosecutor who is leading the investigation.

Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte said in an interview that an autopsy conducted today showed the cause of death was strangulation and blunt chest trauma. Conte also offered some speculation as to a motive for the attack, allegedly carried out by fellow inmate Joseph L. Druce.

"I am not a psychiatrist and not a psychologist, but I would say that the gentleman has a lot of hate in his heart for anyone who commits crimes against kids and for homosexuals," Conte said. "He definitely saw Geoghan as a prize."

Geoghan, who was defrocked in 1998, sparked a worldwide scandal in the Catholic Church after allegedly molesting nearly 150 young boys while working as a priest in several Boston area parishes. In January 2002, he was convicted of fondling a boy and was serving a nine- to 10-year sentence.

Conte today confirmed many of the details of the attack as first described by an official of a correction officers union over the weekend: With only one correction officer on duty, Druce entered Geoghan's cell just after lunch on Saturday, jammed the door shut, and bound Geoghan's hands before beating and strangling him.

Conte said that Druce wedged the cell door shut with a book -- from which some of the pages were ripped out so that it would fit easily into the door's upper track -- and used a nail clipper and Geoghan's toothbrush on the door's lower track. Druce used a T-shirt smuggled under his clothing and linens to tie Geoghan's hands, and strangled the former priest with a pair of socks that he had been stretching for days, Conte said.

Druce also carried a razor blade into Geoghan's cell, but did not use it in the attack, which lasted between seven and nine minutes. Druce had recently been released from segregation, the rough equivalent of solitary confinement, Conte said.

The level of preparation involved, and Druce's own statements during a lengthy interrogation, suggested that the assault was premeditated, the district attorney said. Druce said under questioning that no one else had assisted with the attack, which took place in the Souza-Baranowski prison in Shirley.

In addition to Conte's criminal investigation of the incident, the Massachusetts Department of Correction will conduct an internal inquiry. And Gov. Mitt Romney (R) today ordered the state's Department of Public Safety to launch an independent investigation into whether the prison's policies and procedures were adequate.

"There are many unanswered questions," said Romney spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman.

"We can't escape the fact that an inmate died while in custody . . . and we want to find out why," said Department of Public Safety spokesman David Shaw. The department has convened an investigative panel whose members include a state police major, a Department of Correction official, and an outside prisons expert, Shaw said.

Conte, who will present evidence to a grand jury in early September, said he also is concerned that prison procedures may have contributed to the attack.

"We're going to have to look at why there was only one guard on duty, and why more than 20 cells were open at the same time," Conte said. "As to whether or not anyone else was involved, we will certainly be looking into that, but it doesn't appear so."

Since the maximum sentence in Massachusetts is life, Conte said it was unclear what, if any, further punishments could be imposed if Druce, who is already serving a life sentence, is convicted. "The only thing that I know has been done in the past is to take away certain rights and privileges," he said.

Druce, described earlier in the week by his father as hating blacks, Jews and gays, was convicted of strangling a man in 1988. The Boston Globe reported today that the earlier crime had also been carried out against an elderly man whom Druce -- then known as Darrin Smiledge -- had believed was homosexual.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2003-08-26 09:06am

"We're going to have to look at why there was only one guard on duty, "

Hmmm.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-08-26 09:09am

I can't think of a single person on Earth who'd be horrified at what happened to that sick little twisted pervert. Hell, if I was asked at the time, I'd say "he'll be killed in prison".

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-08-26 09:29am

i guess the system works afterall.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-08-26 11:13am

I heard that guys in prison really don't like child molesters. This isn't really suprising.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-08-26 11:13am

Well, even the serial murderer/rapist/torturers think of Child Molesters as the scum of the Earth, so I'm not surprised this happened...

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-08-26 01:14pm

I have a feeling they may isolate child molester,to protect their worthless lives now,just like they do in Quebec prisons.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-08-26 01:37pm

bah! let the scumbags kill each other. Dammit i want a real version of 'The Running Man' so i can watch child molesters get the shit beaten out of them!

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-08-26 01:42pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:bah! let the scumbags kill each other. Dammit i want a real version of 'The Running Man' so i can watch child molesters get the shit beaten out of them!

WOOHOO i`ll be the first to watch it (Drink Cadre Cola)

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2003-08-26 08:37pm

Since this guy basically can't be punished any further, he should just laugh and moon the judge while screaming how glad he is to have done it!

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-08-26 09:19pm

GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:Since this guy basically can't be punished any further, he should just laugh and moon the judge while screaming how glad he is to have done it!

Does Massechusetts have the death penalty? Because a premeditated murder would likely get him the chair.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-08-26 09:28pm

Stormbringer wrote:
GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:Since this guy basically can't be punished any further, he should just laugh and moon the judge while screaming how glad he is to have done it!
Does Massechusetts have the death penalty? Because a premeditated murder would likely get him the chair.

No; the article states that life in prison is the harshest possible sentence.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-08-26 09:30pm

neoolong wrote:I heard that guys in prison really don't like child molesters. This isn't really suprising.

Think about what happened to a large percentage of the prisioners back when they were children.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-08-26 09:32pm

Massachusetts? Death Penalty? You kidding? Hell, Bush I made Massachusetts' lenient attitude towards crime a campaign issue in 1988 against Dukakis, and succeeded wildly in doing so. I don't know how lenient the state is today, but I do know they have no death penalty.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-08-26 10:11pm

Well, Shep, is this true about the prison justice?

Some of the other priests were even saying that they were expecting something like this to happen and it didn't surprise them one bit.