bobandcarole
2006-05-21 14:11:28 UTC
Good...next we need to send them to Gitmo...
trumped-up disciplinary reports that landed the former clergyman in the
dangerous-inmate unit where he was strangled and beaten by a fellow
prisoner, a report released Tuesday found.
Investigators said a series of "overzealous and unwarranted" reports by
a handful of guards led to the frail, 68-year-old Geoghan being
classified as one of the state's most dangerous prisoners and sent to
the high-security unit at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
Geoghan was killed by Joseph Druce last August as he and other inmates
returned to their cells after lunch, authorities said.
Druce, who is serving a life sentence for killing a gay man, has been
charged with murder. Authorities say Druce followed Geoghan into his
cell, then jammed the door shut with a book, and beat and strangled
Geoghan.
Geoghan was the priest at the center of the Boston Archdiocese's sex
abuse scandal. At the time of his death, he was accused in civil
lawsuits of molesting nearly 150 children over three decades and was
serving a 9- to 10-year sentence for groping a 10-year-old boy.
Geoghan's lawyers said they had frequently complained to corrections
officials that guards were mistreating Geoghan by taunting him, filing
bogus disciplinary reports against him and even urinating and
defacating on his bed. They said their complaints were ignored by
prison officials.
No evidence was uncovered that guards, despite allegations some had a
grudge against Geoghan, set him up to be killed. The report found that
Druce worked "alone and in secret," and that there was nothing to
indicate anyone at the prison - inmate or employee - knew of his plans
to harm Geoghan.
The report cites specific failures at Souza-Baranowski that allowed
Geoghan to be attacked, including insufficient staffing procedures at
his unit. But much of the criticism focuses on his time at MCI-Concord,
the medium-security prison where he was "unduly harassed and physically
abused," the report said.
Specifically, the report cites trivial infractions written up as
disciplinary reports against Geoghan by guards at MCI-Concord, where
Geoghan was housed until five months before his death. The reports
helped spur a decision by prison officials to increase Geoghan's
"dangerousness" classification and transfer him to the maximum-security
prison.
The investigation found that the disciplinary reports "were more the
result of personal animus against (Geoghan) than serious infractions
that required formal findings."
The results of the investigation, conducted by a three-member
commission, will be forwarded to prosecutors.
trumped-up disciplinary reports that landed the former clergyman in the
dangerous-inmate unit where he was strangled and beaten by a fellow
prisoner, a report released Tuesday found.
Investigators said a series of "overzealous and unwarranted" reports by
a handful of guards led to the frail, 68-year-old Geoghan being
classified as one of the state's most dangerous prisoners and sent to
the high-security unit at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
Geoghan was killed by Joseph Druce last August as he and other inmates
returned to their cells after lunch, authorities said.
Druce, who is serving a life sentence for killing a gay man, has been
charged with murder. Authorities say Druce followed Geoghan into his
cell, then jammed the door shut with a book, and beat and strangled
Geoghan.
Geoghan was the priest at the center of the Boston Archdiocese's sex
abuse scandal. At the time of his death, he was accused in civil
lawsuits of molesting nearly 150 children over three decades and was
serving a 9- to 10-year sentence for groping a 10-year-old boy.
Geoghan's lawyers said they had frequently complained to corrections
officials that guards were mistreating Geoghan by taunting him, filing
bogus disciplinary reports against him and even urinating and
defacating on his bed. They said their complaints were ignored by
prison officials.
No evidence was uncovered that guards, despite allegations some had a
grudge against Geoghan, set him up to be killed. The report found that
Druce worked "alone and in secret," and that there was nothing to
indicate anyone at the prison - inmate or employee - knew of his plans
to harm Geoghan.
The report cites specific failures at Souza-Baranowski that allowed
Geoghan to be attacked, including insufficient staffing procedures at
his unit. But much of the criticism focuses on his time at MCI-Concord,
the medium-security prison where he was "unduly harassed and physically
abused," the report said.
Specifically, the report cites trivial infractions written up as
disciplinary reports against Geoghan by guards at MCI-Concord, where
Geoghan was housed until five months before his death. The reports
helped spur a decision by prison officials to increase Geoghan's
"dangerousness" classification and transfer him to the maximum-security
prison.
The investigation found that the disciplinary reports "were more the
result of personal animus against (Geoghan) than serious infractions
that required formal findings."
The results of the investigation, conducted by a three-member
commission, will be forwarded to prosecutors.