Upsetting victims of clergy sexual abuse, prosecutors who won a guilty verdict against John J. Geoghan for molesting a 10-year-old boy said yesterday his conviction will be erased because the former priest died while appealing the case.That's an interesting policy. Is it a good one? The alternative would seem to be to either (1) let the guilty verdict stand, or (2) let the verdict stand unless the heirs of the man convicted want to pursue the appeal (at their expense), or (3) continue the appeal, either without a lawyer for the appellant or with a government-funded lawyer. I'm not sure which one I think is best....
"The Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that if a defendant dies while his appeal is pending, the indictments are to be remanded to the trial court with an order that they be dismissed," she said.
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