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	Geoghan Killer Files Suit against Boston Herald By David E. Frank Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly September 23, 2008 http://blogs.masslawyersweekly.com/news/2008/09/23/geoghan-killer-files-suit-against-boston-herald/ If the convicted killer of defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan has his way, he'll soon be headed back to court. Only this time he's hoping to appear as a plaintiff in a libel suit against Boston Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell and former Herald scribe Michelle McPhee. According to a two-page document mailed to Lawyers Weekly from the friendly confines of the DDU Unit at MCI Walpole, Joseph L. Druce has filed a pro-se complaint in Suffolk Superior Court (docket number SUCV2008-0384-C). Without alleging any facts or stating the basis of the complaint, Druce's filing sent to Lawyers Weekly merely reads: "Libel-Slander Civil Action." The complaint was filed on Aug. 27, according to the Trial Court's website. While the case may seem like a long shot, Druce has secured one victory already: His motion to waive the filing fee of $275 and court costs was granted by Superior Court Judge Frank M. Gaziano. According to the docket sheet: "After reviewing the affidavit of indigency and the statement of inmate account provided by the correctional facility, the court hereby orders: The plaintiff is ordered to pay a lump-sum payment of $5.00 in order to proceed." If the libel case doesn't pan out, Druce is hoping for a chance in Worcester, where, according to his civil action cover sheet, he has also filed suit against the "Worcester Diocese." Druce was convicted of fatally strangling and beating Geoghan while the two were housed together in 2003 in a maximum security wing at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Institute. He is serving a life sentence.
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