The sick and twisted evil man who killed John Geoghan claims to have done it for the children. Joseph Druce sent a letter to the newspaper of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., saying that sex abusers of children do not receive harsh enough punishments.
And the Boston Globe treats the man’s ravings on sexual abuse as if they were the thoughts of someone reasonable. Maybe, their treatment isn’t so kid glove. Maybe, I’m just taken aback at seeing the ravings of a madman presented so calmly on the page.
Druce is a murderer, twice over! Who appointed him arbiter of what acceptable punishment is? Why even publish the contents of this letter, thus giving his actions some small justification? Yes, John Geoghan was a pedophile, but I thought we live in a civilization. Street justice, or in this case prison justice, is not acceptable and not to be condoned.
In a way the whole letter is the final straw to show that we have finally stripped the phrase of “for the children” of all meaning. “Murder for the children!” Anything can be justified nowadays if it’s for the children.
Why even publish the contents of the letter? Here’s a thought:
“Druce’s attorney has said he expects to use the insanity defense again. “
And anyway, abortion, incredibly enough, is justified “for the sake of the children” so why is Druce’s (supposed) rationale surprising?
What I found, and still do find, pretty crummy is the refusal to pray for the soul of John Geoghan immediately following his murder. After asking around, I can only conclude that my parish church was the only one who offered two consecutive Sunday Masses for Geoghan’s soul…apparently everybody else thought that to do so would’ve been “in poor taste.”
Sorry for the switcheroo on topic, but I’m still rather saddened by this “PR Is All” attitude.