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Child murderer won't be allowed to attend father's funeral

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 17, 2009 12:55 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A convicted child murderer won't be allowed out of prison to attend his father's funeral, and the program that allows such releases will be reviewed, state public safety officials said today.

Jeffrey Curley

Charles Jaynes, who was convicted of murdering 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley in 1997, was slated to be allowed out of prison to go to his father's funeral Friday. But the state's public safety secretary has suspended the approval of Jaynes's request, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said today.

"Upon learning of [the Department of Correction's] approval of inmate Charles Jaynes' request, the Secretary ordered DOC to suspend the approval pending further review," Terrel Harris said in a statement.

Public Safety Secretary Kevin M. Burke also ordered the department to initiate a "review of the overall process for approving emergency escorts for inmates to view deceased relatives," Harris said.

Bob Curley, Jeffrey Curley's father, welcomed the reversal, saying he didn't oppose the overall program but did oppose it in the case of Jaynes.

"There are people that deserve a chance, for whatever reason. But Charles Jaynes is a manipulator, he's a child rapist, and he's a child murderer. He doesn't deserve a chance," Curley said. "Charles Jaynes is playing the system. … He's pretty good at playing the system and it's basically what he's doing over there."

Curley said Jaynes had been released twice before for such visits and he had been notified the day before, which didn't give him time to speak out. This time, a local television reporter called him two days before, on Wednesday, which gave him a chance to speak out earlier.

"It was just fortunate this time the media got involved," he said.

In a horrific, heart-breaking case that drew national attention, Jaynes and Salvatore Sicari were convicted of killing Jeffrey Curley in October 1997 after luring the boy into a car by promising him a bicycle. The men smothered the boy with a gasoline-soaked rag when he resisted their sexual advances, prosecutors said.

Sicari was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder, while Jaynes was convicted of kidnapping and second-degree murder.