Massachusetts inmate pleads guilty to ‘brutal attack’ on correction officer at MCI-Shirley

An inmate who was accused of a “brutal attack” on a correction officer at MCI-Shirley has pleaded guilty to the vicious assault.

Roy Booth, 42, pleaded guilty on Friday in Middlesex Superior Court to charges of mayhem and armed assault with intent to murder.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge Catherine Ham sentenced Booth to 13-15 years at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison.

That sentence will be served consecutively with a life sentence, which he’s serving in Virginia on a murder conviction.

“Roy Booth’s brutal attack on Corrections Officer Matthew Tidman highlights the dangers that law enforcement, specifically Corrections Officers, face in their day-to-day work,” Middlesex DA Marian Ryan said in a statement.

“No one should have to fear for their life in their workplace,” Ryan added. “Fortunately, Corrections Officer Tidman, having suffered horrendous injuries, and against all odds, survived this terrifying attack.”

On Aug. 31, 2022, Booth used a metal pole to relentlessly beat Tidman.

Booth, during recreation time, took the pole from the weight room section of the gymnasium and concealed it by his side until he attacked Tidman from behind. He only stopped the attack once he was physically restrained by other officers.

Booth had been transferred from Virginia to prison in Massachusetts in 2021. He was transferred back to a Virginia state prison following the attack.

Last month at Souza-Baranowski, two correction officers were stabbed by inmates at Souza Baranowski. Three inmates have been charged for that attack.