Jay Fitzgerald is exactly right about the murder of ex-priest John Geoghan:
“Why was Geoghan booked in a maximum-security prison, from the outset, with all the other physically dangerous prisoners? Was he dumped there because he was psychologically assessed as a potential threat? Was he there because of overcrowding at other facilities? Was he there because there would have been a howl of protest if he had been sent to a ‘country club’ lower-security prison? I suspect the reasons have to do with the latter two queries. … If we wanted Geoghan to die, we should have had a death penalty on the books and not be hypocrites about it. If we don’t want the death sentence in Massachusetts, then we need a better prison system that honestly and justly fits the crime to the punishment. …Geoghan was doomed from the moment he entered MCI Shirley. ”