Posted on 01/25/2006 11:35:12 AM PST by US admirer
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A jury rejected an insanity defense and found prison inmate Joseph Druce guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the strangulation of pedophile priest John Geoghan, a central figure in Boston's clergy sex abuse scandal.
Druce admitted sneaking into Geoghan's prison cell in August 2003. He jammed the door shut with a book, then beat and strangled the 68-year-old before guards could stop him.
The defense had argued that Druce was mentally ill and under the delusion that God had chosen him to kill Geoghan and send a message to pedophiles around the world.
Prosecutor Lawrence Murphy presented another picture of Druce, describing him as a conniving killer who planned the murder for weeks so he could be a "big shot" in prison.
"He was not a mentally ill person, raging out of control," Murphy said. "He's a calculating individual who waited for his opportunity."
The jury of five women and seven men deliberated for about six hours before reaching the guilty verdict.
Druce, 40, is already serving a life sentence for killing a man who allegedly made a sexual pass at him after picking Druce up hitchhiking. He unsuccessfully used an insanity defense during that 1989 trial.
With the new conviction, he'll face another life sentence without the possibility of parole.
On the witness stand, Druce described a troubled childhood in which his father beat him and his mother. He said he was physically and sexually abused at a residential school for troubled children.
Druce said he killed Geoghan to avenge the innocent children the defrocked priest was accused of molesting. He said he overheard Geoghan advise other inmates on how to molest children and say he planned to move to South America after prison so he could resume working with children.
"I had seen myself as the designated individual who had to put a stop to the pedophilia in the church," Druce said.
Geoghan was in prison for fondling a 10-year-old boy, but he was accused in lawsuits of sexually abusing some 150 children.
His case helped spark the clergy sex abuse scandal that spread worldwide after church personnel records revealed that the Boston Archdiocese had transferred Geoghan from parish to parish, even after allegations of abuse surfaced.
Justice is when bad things happen to bad people, and good to good.
Law is important, but unrelated to real justice.
Should have given him time off for good behavior.
Justice would demand retribution, such as the death penalty. As it is, the murderer gets another life sentence.
If he's already got a life sentence then no loss any way. I wonder why his lawyer even fought about it. Good for him though. One less piece of garbage to molest kids. I bet people send that prisoner cookies and stuff for this.
The Lord do move in mysterious ways.
***************
Not justice. I believe the above is correct.
No,here in the People's Republic of Massachusetts all life is sacred.
That is,unless Planned Parenthood hasn't gotten to it first.
The priest was tried, convicted and sentenced by a jury, in accordance with the law. The law isn't necessarily justice.
However, what happened here was a murder. Justice will be served by the Almighty in the next life.
Or Ted Kennedy.*
*Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.
This guy has made a good name for himself in the clinker, he really didn't have much to lose killing Geoghan.
I'm just hoping that they end up putting the pedophiles who killed Jessica Lunsford, or Dylan Groehne or Danielle Van Damme or Samanthe Runion in with him.
Sadly, as I typed that, it just hit me how many children have been raped and murdered by these pieces of human debris in the past couple of years. It's terrible.
Solitary confinement for 1 1/2 hours ought to be sufficient.
"Geoghan was in prison for fondling a 10-year-old boy...""Pedophile" gives the misleading impression that girls were sexually abused too. They weren't! These priests' are HOMOSEXUAL predators - period. Scott Ritter and his ilk are "pedophiles". Teachers who have sex with students of the opposite sex are "pedophiles" these priests aren't.
And if calling a spade a spade upsets the 'gay lobby' queers, well that's too flucking bad. As I'm sick and GD tired of having a deviant 2% of the population setting the agenda on "what's a pedophile" and what's a HOMOSEXUAL PREDATOR.
The molester received justice here. For the life of me I can't understand why people who sexually molest children don't receive the death penalty. There shouldn't be a "list" of sexual predators except at the morgue.
Fantastic! Give that boy an early release!
A friend was called to serve on that jury.
When asked if he had followed the case he said he had followed it intently, as he was catholic and was outraged at Geoghan and the church and the lack of justice in Ma.
When asked if he could be impartial he replied hell no. There should not even be this trial because the priest should have been killed by the state long ago. He said he thought it was terrible that the state basically used someone else to administer justice when they lacked the guts and that a trial was a waste of taxpayer's money since nothing could happen to the defendent.
He was sent home.
Dude deserves a medal
Absolutely.
Likely he just wants to murder people and simply waits for a convenient excuse to justify venting his criminal killer instinct.
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