Much opposition has been expressed against death of 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson in a boot camp in Florida. I am surprised by the fact that so little outrage has been expressed against the routine usr of physical violence in a state supported institution..
Does an inmate need to die before we care how he is treated? Why are institutions allowed to abuse children? How can anyone expect children in these boot camps to become nonviolent and law abiding citizens if they experience or witness violence used by those in authority?
Someone should be held accountable for this criminal act and these camps should immediately be shut down.
I don't care WHAT the color of the person's skin is! WHY is this sort of crap happening? It's really sad that people don't step up to the plate, so to speak, and get coverage on things like this, and get this crap stopped.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
The last I heard of this case was that the medical examiner stated the kid died of an undiagnosed blood disorder. His death had nothing to do with his treatment
Mr. F said this in post #5 : The last I heard of this case was that the medical examiner stated the kid died of an undiagnosed blood disorder. His death had nothing to do with his treatment
did you see the video?! the beating is as clear as Rodney King's. did you believe your eyes or what they told you in that incident? why can't medical examiner be apart of cover up?
lodgebo said this in post #7 : Blood disorder or not 1. he should not be getting beat up and 2 he should not be dying in the camp he should have recieved medical attention
did you know he his the 3rd Black kid to have been beaten to death? have you seen video? check computer.
FDLE releases videotape of 14-year-old's altercation with boot camp guardsBY MARY ELLEN KLAS, CAROL MARBIN MILLER, MARC CAPUTO AND JACOB GOLDSTEINcmarbin@herald.comPANAMA CITY - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a videotape today that shows guards at a North Florida bootcamp repeatedly striking and forcefully restraining a visibly weak 14-year-old boy who died hours later.
The tape, intentionally blurred by the FDLE to protect the identities of the other youths at the camp, shows between three and five drill-sergeant-garbed guards pressing, wrestling and splaying 140-pound Martin Lee Anderson, who has rubbery legs and at no times appears to offer resistance. Also, the nurse on scene appears to offer no help.
The Miami Herald and CNN sued for the release of the video, and this newspaper plans to post the videotape online at MiamiHerald.com as soon as possible.
The Medical Examiner in Panama City ruled that the teenager died of natural causes and not from an altercation with guards, adding that the youth suffered from a genetic blood disorder, sickle cell trait, that caused him to bleed to death.
But experts say that dying from the trait, which overwhelmingly affects blacks, is exceedingly rare. At a Friday press conference, Sen. Gary Siplin, an Orlando Democrat and leader of the black legislative caucus, called the finding ''ridiculous.'' He said Martin was ``murdered.''
Two veteran South Florida lawmakers, who had viewed the tape before it was blurred and made public, said Martin's treatment was ''brutal.'' They said it raised questions about the treatment of detainees at the Bay Sheriff's Office Boot Camp, which is one of the poorest-performing of the five Florida juvenile bootcamps and allows guards to use deadly force, chemical agents, pressure points and leg and arm strikes.
The tape begins with a view of the bootcamp's grounds where youths are being forced to exercise. After about 30 minutes, a skirmish breaks out in the back, apparently involving Martin and as many as five guards.
Martin appears to be restrained by the guards, given a series of hits to the arm and then lurches forward. Several minutes later, the camera shows the other kids being marched out, and then zooms into the back. But, at points, the video is so blurry and grainy it's difficult to make out what the guards are doing with Martin.
Soon, it shows two guards, each of them bigger and taller than Martin, pressing him against what appears to be a post. They have their knees against what appears to be his back. The only thing visible of Martin's is his bent knee.
After pressing against him for a while, they stand back and he collapses in a heap, his legs unable to bear his weight. A nurse circles the action, rendering no aid.
Three guards go down on the ground with Martin as his hips writhe. They raise him up and he appears unable to stand. He falls to the ground again. The guards then appear to stick something up his nose -- likely an ammonia capsule to attempt to revive him.
Two guards hold Martin's arms out, crucifix-like. Three other guards watch and the nurse walks out calmly.
The guards then attempt to raise him again and bring Martin to the post again and again press his chest against it. They then let him gently down on the ground, where he rolls. Three more times they try to put something in his nose and they pat his stomach. One appears to offer him some water and more ammonia.
By now the nurse is back and the tape ends.
Martin was soon taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in nearby Pensacola and died Jan. 6, hours after the restraint.
Legislators Gus Barreiro and Dan Gelber -- a Republican and Democrat respectively -- told The Miami Herald last week after seeing the video of the incident that officers at times punched, kicked and choked Martin. They said a nurse on the compound appeared to wait 20 minutes before seeking medical aid, even though Martin appeared to be in distress.
Now the U.S. attorney for North Florida and the Justice Department are launching a civil rights investigation.
This week black lawmakers called on Gov. Jeb Bush and his youth corrections agency to shut down the boot camp.
Officials at the boot camp, which operates under contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, said Martin was not cooperating with demands to perform strenuous exercises.
The FDLE, which has jurisdiction across Florida, is overseeing the criminal investigation and will report its findings to the state attorney's office for the 14th Judicial Circuit in the Panhandle.
The Department of Juvenile Justice, which pays the Bay County sheriff to operate the boot camp, also is conducting an investigation into agency policies and procedures and overseeing the conduct of the boot camp's staff.
Seven officers and drill instructors who were involved in the Jan. 5 incident are still working for the Bay County Sheriff's Office, with full pay. They have, however, been placed on ''no-contact'' status -- meaning no contact with youth at the camp until the investigations have been completed.
In a report released Thursday, the Bay County Medical Examiner condluded that Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old boy who died after an altercation with guards while in state custody, was killed by complications of sickle cell trait.
But the autopsy report showed none of the signs associated with such a death, a professor at Harvard Medical School said Friday.
''That report is not plausible at all,'' said Dr. Kenneth Bridges, the former director of the Center for Sickle Cell and Thalassemic Disorders in Boston, who reviewed the report at The Herald's request.
Sickle cell trait is not considered a disease. About eight percent of African-Americans have the trait, and the vast majority live their lives without any symptoms. In rare cases, though, the trait may contribute to sudden death caused by extremely vigorous exercise coupled with dehydration.
But the autopsy report of a patient who died in that way would look different than the report on Anderson, Bridges said.
''The problem that leads to death in these individuals is the breakdown of muscle, so when you look at the muscle tissue you see the release of stuff out of the muscle tissue,'' he said. ``He had no evidence of that.''
The muscles of someone who died that way would look swollen and bright red, Bridges said. The condition could also cause kidney failure. The autopsy report said that the muscles of the neck looked normal. It did not indicate a change in muscle appearance or the onset of kidney failure.
The report did note that several organs were congested with sickle-shaped cells. Bridges said that demonstrated that Anderson had sickle cell trait, but did not indicate that the trait had caused his death.
''The presence of the sickle cells occurs in people with sickle trait when they die under any circumstances,'' he said.
At a press conference on Friday to release the tape, Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen refused to answer questions about the controversial autopsy but read a prepared statement saying the results of the autopsy do not ``change the seriousness, complexity or complacations of this unfortunate incident.''
''As I have said earlier, the viewing of this video will reseult in many questions, concerns and accusations,'' he said. ``We, at no time, have indicated that we believe this incident was handled correctly. As a result of these concerns, several procedural changes have already occurred.''
McKeithen, who has been criticized by black legislators for showing more concern for protecting the actions of boot camp officials than Anderson's family, refused to answers questions about what changes he has implemented.
His office released a memo, dated Jan. 6 the day after the incident, which ordered boot camp officials to ''immediately stop the use of'' ammonia capsules ``for any purpose other than emergency situations, such as attempting to revive a persron has has obviously passed out. Even this will not be done for a prolonged period of time.''
In a second memo that day, McKeithen said ``ammonia capsules will only be administered by licensed medical personnel or by a D.I. who has completed ample training in such procedures.''
McKeithen said in his statement that once the investigations are complete, ``any violations or improper procedures will be dealt with in a swift and just manner. Again our condolences go out to the family of Martin Anderson.''
For Gelber, who first saw the tape last week, it does raise questions.
''Why would you ever hit a kid who's not hitting you? Why wouldn't they give him health care immediately? Why was he ever put in that position?,'' Gelber asked on Friday, after viewing the version of the tape released by FDLE on Friday.
He said boot camp officials erred by misjudging Martin's condition and using excessive force.
''He might have been non-compliant because he was exhausted,'' he said. ``You are supposed to use the force reasonable. Therefore, in my judgment, any blow to this kid was excessive.''
FDLE regional director Tim Ring, whose Pensacola office is conducting the criminal investigation of to boot camp, said the video was released ''due to the compelling public interest and speculation to its contents'' because the agency has ''substantially completed'' its criminal investigation.
The completed investigation will be turned over to the state attorney, he said, and nothing more will be released ''until such time as the case is no longer considered an investigation,'' he said.
He added that the agency intentionally obscurred the video.
''We did have to comply with state law and disquise the images of other juveniles that are on this tape so the quality of our work
I found the whol report disturbin hell even in prison or in the forces you don't get treated like that, they can't treat you like that. The most disturbing thing I read thoug was that this camp that has 14 year old inmates ( is that the correct term, are they inmates) allows gurads to use deadly force no sorry that is wrong wrong wrong. We also have a medical "proffesional" no scratch that a human being who is willing to stand by and watch a kid be beaten to death. There is so much wrong with this camp it should be shut down but not before all those involved stand trial for taking a life.
I'm not convinced he was beaten to death. I saw part of the video, and they had a bunch of guards around him, yelling at him, and they were jerking him around, yeah.
It was one of those boot camp things they send you too, instead of jail, where they run you, yell at you, try to turn you into something.
From the short part of the clip I saw, if there was beating, it was minor, it wasn't anything like a Rodney King beating. No broken bones, no huge bruises, nothing like that.
What happened here is the kid got lightly beaten, which is still over the line, yeah, but he was not hit anywhere near a level that it would kill him.
He died because he had that blood disorder, and was sick. They thought he was being lazy, in fact he was dying as they were messing with him.
Had he been at home, or anywhere else, he would have been taken to the hospital and probably made it. He died because they were making him run and do bootcamp stuff, and they didn't believe him when he said he was sick.
I think they should get some manslaughter charges against the nurse and the drill sergeants, whatever they were, for failure to provide proper medical attention,
but not first degree murder. A beating death would be first degree, but this was no beating death.
From what I saw, he was lightly slapped. But I only saw a grainy portion of it. The main part was it was a bunch of dudes around him, dragging him from point to point, yelling at him, trying to make him stand up.
I wasn't saying charge them with murder maybe manslaughter I said they should stand trial but I was not sure exctly how you would be charged in the US I know you diffrent degrees of muder ( 1st and 2nd Degree maybe ).
Any beating is out of line and the guards are meant to make you work through yelling and screaming at you they need respect and they lose it if they beat you.
I don't think this was a racially charged incident though I think had this kid be white we would still betalking about it, but dare I say that a lot more media outlets would have been talking about if it was white kid.
Whidden said this in post #12 : I'm not convinced he was beaten to death. I saw part of the video, and they had a bunch of guards around him, yelling at him, and they were jerking him around, yeah.
It was one of those boot camp things they send you too, instead of jail, where they run you, yell at you, try to turn you into something.
From the short part of the clip I saw, if there was beating, it was minor, it wasn't anything like a Rodney King beating. No broken bones, no huge bruises, nothing like that.
What happened here is the kid got lightly beaten, which is still over the line, yeah, but he was not hit anywhere near a level that it would kill him.
He died because he had that blood disorder, and was sick. They thought he was being lazy, in fact he was dying as they were messing with him.
Had he been at home, or anywhere else, he would have been taken to the hospital and probably made it. He died because they were making him run and do bootcamp stuff, and they didn't believe him when he said he was sick.
I think they should get some manslaughter charges against the nurse and the drill sergeants, whatever they were, for failure to provide proper medical attention,
but not first degree murder. A beating death would be first degree, but this was no beating death.
From what I saw, he was lightly slapped. But I only saw a grainy portion of it. The main part was it was a bunch of dudes around him, dragging him from point to point, yelling at him, trying to make him stand up.
The evidence is on tape. The Bay County "boot camp" incident could well be a hate/race crime. I couldn't see the video well enough to tell if there were any Black offfiers involved. Regardless, everyone who is on that tape should have been immediately fired and removed from the camp.
The nurse and those officiers holding and striking a kid , despite his obviously helpless condition( The boy is kneed so hard by one of the guards that his limp body seems to leave the ground from the force of the blow) charged and penalized the same as anyone who deliberately takes a life.
This 14-year old kid was arrested for taking some of his friends for a ride in grandmother's car without permission. Grandmother had not planned to file charges unless the sentence was community service, but state charged him with trespassing which cause violation of his probation. Kids commited Colubine Masscre were arrested for same violation and given anger management class.
State must shut down Abu Graib camps for Black kids. Thats all they are.
02-23-2006 05:12 AM
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