Inmate charged in corrections officer attack thought it would get him moved to Virginia, prosecutor says

WOBURN - A convicted murderer charged with using a heavy piece of weightlifting equipment to savagely beat a guard at a Massachusetts prison thought the attack would get him returned to his home state of Virginia, a prosecutor said in court on Thursday. 

Roy Booth, 40, pleaded not guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to charges including armed assault with intent to murder in connection with the Aug. 31 attack on Corrections Officer Matthew Tidman at Massachusetts Correctional Institution-Shirley. 

Tidman spent more than a month in the hospital in a coma with severe head injuries and continues to recover at a rehabilitation facility, according to a representative of his union.

"Matt, over the last couple of weeks, has made some pretty good headway in the recovery process," Kevin Flanagan of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union said outside of court. "He's rehabilitating now, he is moving a little bit up and around, walking, and eating. So we're very happy with the progress that he has made, but it's a very long road with many surgeries ahead of him." 

Tidman, 36, was monitoring the recreation area at the medium security facility when he was struck multiple times with a metal pole the suspect had unscrewed from the weightlifting apparatus, authorities said. Other guards came to his aid. 

The pole was about 2 feet (61 centimeters) long and weighed 5 to 6 pounds (2.3 to 2.7 kilograms), Assistant District Attorney Thomas Brant said at the arraignment. Authorities had previously said it was heavier. 

"Mr. Booth had made statements previous to this incident that he was looking for a way to get back to Virginia, that one of the ways he could get back to Virginia is if he hurts someone," Brant said. 

Booth was held without bail, even though he is already serving a life sentence. His public defender declined comment outside of court.

Booth was transferred to Massachusetts in March 2021 under the Interstate Corrections Compact, prosecutors have said.