WORCESTER (MA)
Pravda
16:00 2006-01-25
A jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Wednesday to determine the fate of an inmate charged with the jailhouse strangling of John Geoghan, the child-molesting priest at the center of Boston's Roman Catholic sex scandal. After more than two weeks of testimony that centered largely on whether Joseph Druce was insane when he killed Geoghan, the panel was given the case Tuesday.
The prosecutor said in his closing argument that Druce was a calculating and conniving killer who planned the murder for weeks so he could be a "big shot" in prison. But Druce's lawyer said Druce was severely mentally ill and under the delusion that God had chosen him to kill Geoghan and send a message to pedophiles around the world.
Druce admits sneaking into Geoghan's cell at the Souza-Baranowski prison in Shirley in August 2003. He jammed the door shut with a book, then beat and strangled the 68-year-old Geoghan.