Joseph Druce

Case record: Joseph Druce

People involved

• Joseph Druce (born 1965) — convicted murderer; inmate at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts; also known as Darren Smileage (and described as Joseph Lee Druce in a handwritten letter)
• John J. Geoghan (68) — former Roman Catholic priest; convicted for sexually abusing children; inmate victim
• George Rollo (51) — victim of a prior murder; in Gloucester, Massachusetts
• Catherine Geoghan — sister of John Geoghan; referenced in Druce’s account of Geoghan’s phone call
• Dana Smiledge — Druce’s father; stated to have declined to comment
• John H. LaChance — Druce’s attorney
• Lawrence Murphy — prosecutor
• John J. Conte — Worcester district attorney
• Jim Pingeon — director of litigation for Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services
• Edward A. Flynn — Massachusetts secretary of public safety, overseeing the state Department of Correction
• David Shaw — spokesman for Massachusetts Department of Public Safety
• Mitt Romney — convened a three-person task force to review prison policies
• Chase Riveland — former secretary of corrections; prison consultant
• Edward A. Flynn — stated “We must find out why and what lessons may be learned.”
• Justin Latini — state Department of Correction spokesman
• Joseph Guidetti — investigator hired by Druce’s lawyer
• Jack Levin — Northeastern University criminologist; director of the Brudnick Center on Violence
• Keith Ablow — New England Medical Center; psychiatric testimony
• Margaret Russell — executive editor of the Catholic Free Press
• Molly Bish — identified as an unsolved-murder case Druce offered information about
• Holly Piirainen — identified as an unsolved-murder case Druce offered information about
• Mitchell Garabedian — lawyer who represented Geoghan’s victims
• Seth Taube — lawyer who defended Catholic schools and religious orders
• Bernard F. Law — former Cardinal referenced in relation to lawsuits
• James Porter — mentioned in relation to another former priest charged with molesting more than 100 children
• George J. Rollo — identified in relation to Druce’s arrest for the murder of George Rollo
• Joseph Aiello — lieutenant with the Gloucester, Massachusetts police department

Timeline

• Aug. 23, 2003 — Druce slipped into John J. Geoghan’s cell in the protective custody unit at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley; Druce jammed the door shut and beat and strangled Geoghan; Geoghan was pronounced dead nearly an hour later at Leominster Hospital.
• Sept. 5, 2003 — Druce swallowed two pencils while in his cell; he was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to have the objects removed by endoscopic surgery.
• Sept. 12, 2003 — A letter was published by the Catholic Free Press of Worcester that authorities said was “almost certainly authentic,” in which Druce identified himself and described sexual abuse as a child.
• Sept. 14, 2003 — A disciplinary report was read in relation to an outburst by Druce after a nurse would not provide “Tums” and ointment for chapped lips.
• Sept. 24, 2003 — An inquiry described Druce as severely beaten by his father as a child and sexually abused beginning at age 8, according to an investigator hired by Druce’s lawyer.
• Sept. 27, 2003 — Druce returned to hospital after swallowing pieces of the stem of a pair of eyeglasses.
• June 2007 — The Boston Herald received a handwritten letter signed “Joseph Lee Druce” with “The truth about officer involvement in John Geogan's (sic) death” and an address; officials investigated who posted a security-camera video from inside Souza-Baranowski.
• Jan. 25, 2006 — A Worcester, Massachusetts jury found Druce guilty of first-degree murder in the strangulation of John Geoghan.
• 1989 — Druce was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a murder conviction; an insanity defense was unsuccessfully used during that trial.
• January 25, 2006 — Druce was sentenced to a second life imprisonment (as part of the sentencing reflected in the status).

Background

Joseph Druce (born 1965) was also known as Darren Smileage and later changed his name while in prison. Druce’s father, Dana Smiledge of Byfield, said Druce had longstanding animosity toward gay people, Jews, and African-Americans.

Druce had been described as having a “long history (of) self-injurious behavior.” In the 1989 trial for murder of George Rollo, Druce’s attorneys unsuccessfully presented an insanity defense.

Druce was described as a onetime truck driver and mechanic, and as having become addicted to drugs by his middle teens, with psychiatric treatment since about age 5 and medication until his middle teens. Court records described Druce as finishing the 10th grade before taking jobs as a mechanic and truck driver, and as changing his name in 1999 while in prison.

Prior offence and imprisonment (George Rollo)

Druce’s life sentence without parole was imposed for killing George Rollo (51) of Gloucester. The killing involved Druce being hitchhiking with a friend in Gloucester when a driver picked them up. Once in a secluded section of Gloucester, the driver touched Druce in the groin; Druce reacted violently, beating Rollo, tying him up, and throwing him in the trunk of Rollo’s car. After Rollo’s beating, Druce and his friend picked up some beer and Druce drove the car to a parking lot near the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, where he strangled Rollo with a rope. Druce was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Authorities said Druce was serving “a life sentence without possibility of parole” for the murder of George Rollo. During interviews and reporting, Druce was described as serving a life sentence for the 1988 beating and strangulation of Rollo.

The offence: killing of John J. Geoghan

John J. Geoghan (68) was a former Roman Catholic priest convicted in connection with sexually abusing children. At the time of his death, Geoghan was serving a nine- to 10-year prison sentence for fondling a 10-year-old boy and was described as having been accused in lawsuits of sexually abusing nearly 150 children, mostly boys. Geoghan was in protective custody at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.

Protective custody and access to the cell

Investigations and testimony described questions about the wisdom and propriety of placing Druce and Geoghan in the same protective custody unit. It was noted that Geoghan and Druce requested protected status because of fears about other inmates.

A lawyer familiar with the case said another prisoner tried to warn guards that Druce planned to kill Geoghan. It was reported that the guards took no action. The investigation also discussed staffing: officials cited that there was only one guard on duty and that a second guard who should have been on duty was away helping a nurse give medication to an inmate.

Investigation and pre-trial matters

Warning and alleged planning

Officials said the suspect had been planning the killing for more than a month. A prisoner was described as standing outside Geoghan’s cell door just before it was to be closed after the lunch break.

The district attorney said the protective custody unit’s low staffing and the number of inmates out of their cells were issues. Prison experts said it was unusual to put people from such backgrounds together in protective custody.

Items used and method described

Investigators and prosecutors described how Druce jammed the door shut and disabled parts of the door track. Prosecutor statements described Druce using a T-shirt to tie Geoghan’s hands behind his back and using socks and a pillowcase to make a noose around Geoghan’s neck, tightening it until Geoghan’s face turned purple and “he was basically dead in his cell.” Prosecutors also described Druce breaking ribs and puncturing lungs by jumping from the bed and stomping on Geoghan’s chest.

An autopsy reported Geoghan’s cause of death to be “ligature strangulation and blunt chest trauma.” A prosecutor said Druce had intended “to do further harm” to Geoghan.

Arrest and court proceedings

Druce was indicted on a murder charge and expected to appear in Worcester Superior Court at a later date.

Trial

Insanity defence and jury deliberation

A Worcester, Massachusetts jury found Druce guilty of first-degree murder on January 25, 2006, after rejecting his insanity defense.

At trial, prosecutors characterized Druce as “a conniving killer who planned the murder for weeks” so he could be a “big shot” in prison. During closing arguments, the prosecutor told jurors he was a “calculating” individual who waited for his opportunity. The jury deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching the guilty verdict early Wednesday afternoon.

Druce claimed he was severely mentally ill and under a delusion that God had chosen him to kill Geoghan and send a message to pedophiles around the world.

Deliberate steps and Druce’s admissions during the case

During his trial, Druce admitted sneaking into Geoghan’s cell in August 2003 and jammed the door shut with a book, then beat and strangled Geoghan before guards could stop him. Prosecutors said Druce told investigators he spent two hours stretching socks into the rope he used to strangle Geoghan and that he made friendly visits to Geoghan’s cell so the priest would not suspect anything when Druce came to kill him.

Witness accounts and disputes on injuries

Druce arrived in court sporting a black eye and welt. His lawyer said it resulted from a jailhouse beating on Tuesday night. The Department of Correction disputed the claim, saying prison surveillance video showed no evidence of such a beating and that medical personnel saw Druce afterward and did not notice any injuries. The Department of Correction also noted self-injurious behavior.

Jury composition

The jury was described as five women and seven men.

Defence psychiatrist testimony

A defence psychiatrist testified that Druce suffered from several mental illnesses, including severe attention deficit disorder, dissociative disorder, intermittent explosive disorder and a personality disorder with symptoms of paranoia and anti-social behavior. Keith Ablow of New England Medical Center testified that Druce suffered greatly during his childhood and was unable to control his rage.

Druce’s statements described in court

Druce said he killed Geoghan to avenge the innocent children the defrocked priest was accused of molesting. Druce said he was driven to kill after hearing Geoghan advise other inmates on how to molest children and after hearing he planned to move to South America after prison so he could resume working with children.

In court-related statements quoted in reporting, prosecutor Lawrence Murphy urged the jury not to let Geoghan’s notoriety as a pedophile influence their decision, and included:

• “No one likes pedophiles, but we can't go around grabbing pedophiles and killing them,” Murphy said.
• “The law doesn't give Mr. Druce that right.”

Druce also said:

• “I had seen myself as the designated individual who had to put a stop to the pedophilia in the church,” in the account described.

In reporting of prosecutors’ opening remarks, Murphy said:

• “He was not a mentally ill person, raging out of control,” Murphy said.
• “He's a calculating individual who waited for his opportunity.”

In reporting of testimony described as involving investigators and authorities, Murphy said:

• “I saved your kids from being raped,” was attributed to Druce in a disciplinary report context, not trial testimony.

Sentencing and legal outcome

On January 25, 2006, Druce was sentenced to a second life imprisonment. His current status also reflected that he was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1989.

Appeals

No appeals were included in the provided material.

Aftermath and related investigations

Prison procedures investigation and policy review

State and local officials opened investigations into procedures after Geoghan’s death, including staffing levels and protective custody procedures at Souza-Baranowski.

A task force was convened to review prison policies, and Edward A. Flynn said: “We must find out why and what lessons may be learned.”

The investigations were described as including review of surveillance camera tapes.

Video, letter, and internal security concerns

In June 2007, the Boston Herald received a handwritten letter signed “Joseph Lee Druce” with “The truth about officer involvement in John Geogan's (sic) death,” and an address. It was described that the address contained a video taken by security cameras inside Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center made during the murder. The 10-minute video was described as showing attempts by correctional officers to open the cell door and eventually extracting an individual and allowing medical personnel to enter. Department of Correction officials investigated who posted the video, described as coming from an internal security camera.

It was stated that inmates at Souza-Baranowski do not have Internet access.

Ongoing effect on civil cases

Mitchell Garabedian said Geoghan’s death would not set back continued lawsuits against the Boston Roman Catholic Archdiocese and senior leaders, including former Cardinal Bernard F. Law. Seth Taube said Geoghan’s death deprived plaintiffs of a witness.

Other incarceration-related remarks

It was also described that it was unclear whether the state would take any further action to protect other former priests serving time in Massachusetts prisons, including mention of James Porter.

Other details

Ages and identity details

• Druce was described at different points as 37, 38, and 40 in reporting about the Geoghan case.
• Geoghan was described as 68.

Letter-writing and content

In Sept. 2003 reporting, a handwritten letter published by the Catholic Free Press was described. Verbatim quotes attributed to the handwritten letter included:

• “I'm the alledged murdered of Defrocked priest John J. Geoghan, and a victim of Sexual Abuse as a Child.”
• “This was'nt a crime to committe a crime, but to let the world no that all child predators must be dealt with with a more stryngent hand, and to stop focusing on Catholoism as the mainstream. Let's look at the crime and not the Church.”
• “Joseph Druce says ''Leave the children alone.''!”
• “no remorse, only gloating and reminissing over past victims. This was my motivation.”
• “To stop these tradegys and violence toward children we must come together and demand the house of legislaitors to re-enact stringent sentances and rehabilitations to cure this plauge on our children.”

The letter was described as also making a “heartfelt apology” to Geoghan’s sister, Catherine.

Department of Correction officials stated they were convinced the letter was written by Druce, though unable to authenticate it beyond a doubt. Justin Latini said: “Reasonably, the letter came from this inmate,” and also:

• “Reasonably, the letter came from this inmate,” he said.
• “We are looking at all the facts and circumstances involved,” was stated by LaChance in relation to investigation of the unit.

Margaret Russell said she worked with Department of Correction officials in investigating its authenticity before publishing it. Russell described a receptionist opening the letter and bringing it to her, and said the receptionist told her: “You're going to want to look at this one.”

Jack Levin’s interpretation in reporting included:

• “I think he very much resents the very widespread idea that he is evil, psychotic, and irrational,” and
• “This does not sound like a guy who wants to bring an insanity defense, not by giving a rational justification for his crime.” He also said:
• “On a superficial level he looks very rational. He wants to save the children. Who can argue with saving children?”

Department of Correction spokesman Justin Latini said about authenticity beyond a doubt:

• “there was no way to determine the letter's authenticity beyond a doubt” unless Druce confirmed authorship.

Prison disciplinary outburst quote

A disciplinary report described that Druce exploded into a rage when a nurse would not provide “Tums” and ointment for chapped lips. Verbatim quotes attributed to Druce in that disciplinary report included:

• “I saved your kids from being raped,” Druce screamed at the nurse, along with an expletive, according to the report.

Child abuse allegations and investigator statements

Joseph Guidetti said:

• “His problems stem from his abuse as a child,” and
• “He didn't have a chance in life from Jump Street.”

Druce’s lawyer quoted in relation to the defence position included:

• “This is not a case about what happened, so much as why and how it came to be,” and
• “This case is about a lack of criminal responsibility -- because of a mental disease Joseph Druce had developed and that had progressed almost throughout his entire life.”

Druce’s lawyer also said in a separate statement:

• “The evidence will show that Joseph Druce never really had a chance in this world,” and
• “There is reasonable doubt that Mr. Druce was sane, that he could control his condition to the standards of the law.”

Abused as a child account and investigation references

Guidetti declined to release the names of the three men he said sexually abused Druce and said those men would be key witnesses for the defence when Druce went on trial.

The investigator said Druce lived in Danvers and Salem as a child and that the alleged abuse incidents varied in duration when Druce was between ages 8 and 12. Guidetti said the three episodes of abuse were separate and independent and that one man lured Druce into his home in Druce’s childhood neighborhood.

Guidetti said Druce learned as a child that the man who sexually abused him had also sexually abused one of his friends, and described a man with an affiliation with the church his family attended, though Guidetti said that man was not a priest and had a supervisory role at the church.

In court closing remarks and stated motivations

Druce’s lawyer said:

• “This is a kid who never had a chance,” his lawyer John LaChance said in his closing argument.

Druce was quoted as saying:

In the account of psychiatric testimony, Keith Ablow was described as stating:

• “He came to see himself as an avenger of those acts,” and
• “and that led directly to (Geoghan's murder).”

Name changes and labels

Druce was described in reporting as having been born Darren Smiledge and changing his name in 1999 while in prison to Joseph Lee Druce. In an application described in court records, Smiledge wrote: “Saftey and enemy issue's, very important to change identity.”

In the misconduct-related reporting, Druce was also identified as “Joseph L. Druce” and as “Joseph Lee Druce” in a handwritten letter to the Catholic Free Press and in later June 2007 correspondence.

Additional incidents while awaiting trial

• Druce swallowed two pencils while in his cell on Sept. 5 and was treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
• Three weeks later, he swallowed pieces of the stem of a pair of eyeglasses and was taken to Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston.
• Reporting also stated that at an arraignment, a judge granted a request by LaChance for funds to pay for an evaluation.

Anthrax hoax letters

While in prison between the two killings, Druce became a sensation for sending fake anthrax to lawyers with Jewish names. The material also noted Druce pleaded guilty last year to mailing anthrax hoax letters to 39 lawyers around the country with Jewish-sounding names, and included reference to attorneys connected to that case.

Jailhouse beating inquiry and dispute

A Department of Correction spokeswoman dispute was described as based on surveillance video and medical personnel observations, and noted that Druce had a long history of self-injurious behavior.

Jurisdiction and locations mentioned

• Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, Shirley, Massachusetts — where Geoghan was trapped in his cell and where Druce was housed
• Leominster Hospital — where Geoghan was pronounced dead nearly an hour later
• Worcester Superior Court — where Druce’s murder trial was held
• Worcester — where the jury’s decision was reached
• Worcester Archdiocese — referenced in relation to the Catholic Free Press and the Diocese of Worcester deacon
• Catholic Free Press of Worcester — described as the publication that published the letter
• Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston — described as receiving Druce after he swallowed eyeglass stem pieces
• UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester — described as receiving Druce for endoscopic removal of objects