WORCESTER (MA)
The New York Times
By KATIE ZEZIMA
Published: January 26, 2006
BOSTON, Jan. 25 — Rejecting an insanity defense, a state jury on Wednesday convicted an inmate of the prison murder of John J. Geoghan, a defrocked priest who was accused of molesting 150 boys. Mr. Geoghan played a central role in the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese here.
Judge Francis R. Fecteau of Worcester District Court sentenced the inmate, Joseph L. Druce, to life in prison without parole, in addition to the life sentence he is serving for another murder.
After the verdict, Mr. Druce told the jury that he had "no hard feelings." Mr. Druce, 40, who had testified that he had been abused as a child, asked after the sentencing that pedophiles be held accountable for their behavior.
During the trial there was no disagreement about what happened at 11:53 a.m. on Aug. 23, 2003, in a protective custody wing at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass.