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	Shanley to Face 'A Living Hell' By J.M. Lawrence Boston Herald [Massachusetts] February 14, 2005 Few would doubt Paul Shanley is a marked man. After sentencing tomorrow, the 74-year-old defrocked cleric convicted of raping a little boy 20 years ago will live in what one prisoners' rights advocate called "a living hell" for pedophile priests. It was more than a year ago in state prison that guards nicknamed 68-year-old defrocked priest John Geoghan "Lucifer" and harassed him with disciplinary violations leading to his transfer from medium to maximum security, where a fellow inmate stomped and strangled him to death on Aug. 23, 2003. Department of Correction acting Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy said in an interview that many reforms have been instituted since Geoghan's murder, bringing a new era of professionalism. "We've clarified our vision, our mission, our culture," she said, ticking off a list of changes surrounding the handling of abuse complaints to better managing protective-custody units. Dennehy declined to speak specifically about Shanley's safety in the system but said her administration is requiring a high level of accountability from staff and supervisors, in addition to a revised training program for new recruits. "We are committed to dealing with the small percentage of the work force that causes problems," said Dennehy, who took the helm almost a year ago. "It's the other 80 percent who come to work every day who do the heroic acts that no one ever hears about." Dennehy's approach has already won her disdain from the guards' union. The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated refused to take part in the creation of a new prison mission statement and took a no-confidence vote in her leadership in August. Union leaders accuse her of backing inmates' testimony over veteran officers at disciplinary hearings. She fired one guard for using excessive force and demoted five others for filing false reports last year at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. "Dennehy's campaign against our profession has brought morale to an all-time low, while increasing the level of danger in our prisons," the union said in a statement. Union President Steve Kenneway did not respond to requests last week for an interview. The leader of a prisoners' legal rights organization said the system still isn't equipped for such inmates as Shanley. "Is the Department of Correction set up to handle high-profile sex offenders? No they're not," said Leslie Walker, executive director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services. The state falls far short of the national average for beds in protective custody, she noted. The national average is 5.6 percent, while Mass DOC has 1 percent, or 92 beds total. Even protective custody is no safe harbor for a pedophile priest doing time. Geoghan was in protective custody when Joseph L. Druce allegedly attacked him.
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