8 Charged in Boy's Death at Florida Boot Camp

[Croynan]

The New York Times

November 28, 2006

8 Charged in Boy’s Death at Florida Boot Camp

By ANDY NEWMAN

MIAMI, Nov. 28 — In a case that caused wide outrage and an overhaul of Florida’s juvenile justice system, seven guards and a nurse were charged today with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a 14-year-old boy in January at a boot camp in the Florida Panhandle.

The death of the boy, Martin Lee Anderson, was initially ruled to be a result of natural causes even though he had been repeatedly kicked, hit and forced to inhale ammonia smelling salts after he stopped running on his first day at Bay Boot Camp in Panama City. But a second autopsy, ordered by a special prosecutor, found that he died of suffocation.

The defendants face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Gov. Jeb Bush, who had said the first autopsy “defied common sense” but had come under increasing pressure as the case dragged on, applauded the charges announced today by the special prosecutor, Mark Ober.

“The family should be pleased with the results,” the governor said.

In May, Governor Bush signed a law named for Martin that closed Florida’s five juvenile boot camps and sharply restricts the use of force at their eventual replacements, which will be known as Sheriff’s Training and Respect, or STAR, programs.

Martin was sentenced to the camp after being arrested for violating probation by taking his grandmother’s car joyriding. During an orientation drill on Jan. 5, he fell while trying to complete a 1.5-mile run, prosecutors said. Guards spent the next 20 minutes holding him down, covering his mouth and forcing him to inhale ammonia, pressing on pressure points and striking him, prosecutors said. The episode was captured on videotape. Martin died the next day at a hospital.

The local medical examiner, Charles Siebert, conducted an autopsy and ruled that Martin had died of complications of sickle cell trait, a blood disorder that mostly affects blacks and is usually not fatal.

After a public outcry, Governor Bush ordered the second autopsy, which was conducted by a county medical examiner from Tampa, 400 miles from Panama City. That inquest determined in May that blocking Martin’s mouth and forcing him to inhale ammonia had caused his vocal cords to spasm and blocked an airway.

The Florida Legislature passed the Martin Lee Anderson Act, which bans the use of stun guns, pressure points, mechanical restraints and some forms of psychological intimidation at juvenile detention centers.

Dr. Siebert has stood by his findings. He was placed on probation by the state’s medical examiner commission in August.

The charges announced today did not include specific allegations against any of the defendants, and Mr. Ober, the special prosecutor, did not offer details.



eM.

 

[gabriel1]

Hell of a punishment for stealing a car. Death.

 

[Yuki Sohma]

Martin did not deserve to be abused. The medical examiner performing the first autopsy should loose thier medical license and also quite honestly face criminal chargesas well.

 

[Riverrick]

I'm glad that they closed those camps. They are a terrible idea.

Wasn't there a young man who died in one in CA a few years ago? I think they couldn't break him and he eventually died of dehydration or something.

 

[Smitho]

They seem to have the luatics in charge of the asylum, glad they are closed down and I hope the murders get what they deserve.

 

[eddielee]

The guards used excessive and unnecessary force when they kept giving him ammonia inhalant. The fact that he had a medical condition only made matters worse. Those guards should have been aware of his medical condition, but I doubt if they were concerned. I saw the video tape, but I couldn't tell much about what was going on.

 

[Joshua_me]

Well, living in FL, this is a story that never really went away
from our newscasts.

I agree with these people being charged, and am outraged that there
was an attempted cover up about the entire thing.

But, I have a bit of a problem with the nurse being charged as well.

It appears that she is just standing there watching what happened, agreed,
but keep in mind there is no audio on the tape, and for all we know she was screaming for them to stop. What was she supposed to do ? Tackle the men twice her size to the ground one by one ?

Truly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Then again, if that had been MY son, I'm quite sure I'd feel differently.

Josh

 

[trawler69]

Well he's learned his lesson and won't be stealing anymore cars

The medical examiner who coverd up should also be prosecuted and the whole system that allows these bullys to be employed should be torn apart to its rotten core.

A death penalty is more humane than this

 

[Theyoungman]

I hope their ass get ripped apart in prison... Lol

 

[gefsmith]

Good I hope these assholes get put into prison.

All the macho bullshit in the world can not do the job of training youth that have gone wrong.

last time I heard, kicking someone when they are down don't make them run any faster.

G

 

[OptimalOptimus]

Just Another Way Our Country Is Becomming A Police State Where We Are The Victims Of Our Goverment & We Are The Punished Ones.

 

[cocktales]

Finally, the "good-ole-boys" are getting what they deserve for what they do!

I was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base located at Panama City and you would NOT believe what the so-called police force got away with there!!

They are still in the dark ages when it comes to race relations (as shown by them killing that kid)!

Joshy, I think the nurse was still cuppable (from watching her body language during the video), she just stood there with her hands on her hips while the good-ole-boys kicked and abused the kid....

It's difficult to try just one without trying the whole lot of them for killing the kid, dontcha think??

I am so happy the State of Florida stopped the camps too!

I think ALL that were involved from the medical examiner up should pay for their crime!!!

 

[Joshua_me]

Joshy, I think the nurse was still cuppable (from watching her body language during the video), she just stood there with her hands on her hips while the good-ole-boys kicked and abused the kid....

Yeah, I agree with that to a point, Roger.

But.

We're only being shown the same brief snippets of the video, over and
over again. I knowing our media like I do, I'm sure they are not just 'random moments', but rather the few seconds that look the most damning for all who
are involved.

Keep in mind, I'm in NO way defending this atrocity, but it was just my 'gut feeling' that she had nothing much to do with it.

(And...now that I think about it...perhaps that was her crime after all.)

All in all, a sad, prolonged legal battle lay ahead, I fear.

Josh

 

[luminum]

His family should be happy with the results? Happy? Happy is in no way the appropriate word...how dare he. But to his defense, Jeb probably doesn't have a great vocabulary...

I'm glad this has finally become a charge.

As for the nurse, if she saw a victim being killed (ammonia?), she has an obligation as a licensed medical professional to stop them or make some attempt. And if those men were in any way trained as they should be, they would never harm her, since that would imply that the tactics are not about method, but purely out of passion of violence.

 

[Joshua_me]

As for the nurse, if she saw a victim being killed (ammonia?), she has an obligation as a licensed medical professional to stop them or make some attempt. .

Yes, I agree, luminum.

But, WHAT attempt would you have suggested ??

"I'm a licensed medical professional, damn it ! You boys STOP that !"

I mean really.... There was nothing she could do at the moment.

And after the fact, was she to 'squeal' on everyone ? There by losing her job, her ability to feed her family, and perhaps even something much worse ?

People disappear all the time, is all I'm saying... This is just the media spotlight on one of I'm sure thousands of cases no one has ever heard of...

It's a grizzly world out there.

Josh

 

[luminum]

Well, I suppose if I assumed that the world was as grizzly as you see it, that would be true. But i'm assuming this is a government regulated establishment in some aspect.

...Not that that says much...

 

[cocktales]

Joshy,

Why shouldn't she say something like that??

I know it sound like a slap on the wrist coming from a woman; but sometimes ALL it takes to stop a "shark feed" is for someone to decide that what is happening is just wrong and to take matters into their hands to put an end to it!

I betcha if just one person got upset over the boy NOT breathing, the beating or whatever they call it, would have stopped and we would NOT be having a law suit against ALL these servants of the people of Florida!

Dammit, I get so angry with the people, from which I was raised up in and around in the South for their stupid, stupid racist feelings!

I know, I know it will take a long, long time to stop the teachings of our parents and grandparents about racism; but dammit, I am just about fed up with the waiting...........and I am a blended color of beige........NOT an African-American who has to endure ALL these years and years of being treated like second-class citizens!

I hope that ANYONE who thinks they can get away with treating human beings with less than humane care, that they are punished to the fullest extent of the law!!

 

[Joshua_me]

Joshy,

Why shouldn't she say something like that??

I know it sound like a slap on the wrist coming from a woman;
Dammit, I get so angry with the people, from which I was raised up in and around in the South for their stupid, stupid racist feelings!

/quote]


I do too, R...

But frankly I'm not sure if it's a question of race or a question people in power versus people who are not.

You've seen things I can't even imagine, so in a way I feel like an idiot trying to defend my point.

But, what pops into my mind is a comparison to the L.A.P.D. and the horrors that have been caught on video involving their actions.

In that, it's easy for 'Joe Public' to sit back in his easy chair and watch what's on TV, without having a clue what these officers go through everyday, and form an opinion based on a 3 sec clip.

Most of us haven't a clue, and are just looking to decide who the 'bad guy'
was in the situation, when given only limited information.

And, as to why the nurse *shouldn't* say anything.

C'mon.

As far as I can tell, she is an African-American as well, so I don't think it's a question of culture, but rather a question of saving her job.

Sad to say, but basic human nature is to look the other way and choose the path of least resistance.

I'm not defending this, it's just what I've seen in my life.

Do I wish things were different ?

Of course.

Do I think they ever will be ?

Well, hope springs eternal, doesn't it ?

Josh

 

[Riverrick]

Its an old dumb way to wake someone up who has fainted. They make these capsules filled with ammonia (you know, like your mother uses to clean things with) that you break and hold under someone's nose. The scent is very powerful and noxious and makes you want to pull away from it.

The thing is, people lose conciousness for various reasons, such as a sudden drop in blood pressure or a brain injury. Waking someone up is just cosmetic unless you solve the underlying problem. He needed more than ammonia capsules.