PENSACOLA, Fla. - Seven former juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse have been charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a boy whose rough handling by the guards was videotaped, a special prosecutor said Tuesday.
Martin Lee Anderson, 14, collapsed on the exercise yard at the Bay County sheriff's camp in Panama City on Jan. 5. Guards said he was uncooperative and refused to continue participating in exercises that were part of the camp's intake processes.
Anderson died early the next morning in Pensacola.
If convicted, the former guards and the nurse who watched the altercation could face up to 30 years in prison.
Waylon Graham, the attorney for Lt. Charles Helms, the officer who held the highest rank among those charged, said he had expected the charges. He said his client would surrender by the end of day.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Anderson's parents, was in Panama City with the family Tuesday and didn't immediately return a call for comment.
Bob Pell, an attorney who represents former guard Joseph Walsh II, said he hadn't heard about charge against his client.
"I didn't anticipate it. I was hoping cooler heads would prevail, but we will deal with this as it comes down. We understood the political pressure that was brought to bear," he said.
The surveillance tape showed guards kneeing and punching the boy repeatedly during a 30-minute encounter. The footage helped spark protests in the state capital, the elimination of the military-style boot camp system and the resignation of the state's top law enforcement officer.
An initial autopsy by medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert found Anderson died of complications of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder.
A second autopsy by Dr. Vernard Adams, the medical examiner for Hillsborough County, found Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to the actions of the guards.
He said the suffocation was caused by hands blocking the boy's mouth, as well as the "forced inhalation of ammonia fumes" that caused his vocal cords to spasm, blocking Anderson's upper airway.
The guards had said in an incident report that they used ammonia capsules five times on Anderson to gain his cooperation.
Siebert has consistently stood by his findings.
Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed the prosecutor after the state attorney for Bay County asked to be removed, said Tuesday he was following the case closely.
"We also hope that once the process is completed that Martin Lee Anderson's family will have the answers to the questions that they legitimately have," Bush said.
Anderson's family has sued the state Department of Juvenile Justice, which oversaw the boot camp system, and the Bay County Sheriff's Office, which ran the camp, seeking more than $40 million in damages.
HECK! said this in post #1 : An initial autopsy by medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert found Anderson died of complications of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder.
A second autopsy by Dr. Vernard Adams, the medical examiner for Hillsborough County, found Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to the actions of the guards.
He said the suffocation was caused by hands blocking the boy's mouth, as well as the "forced inhalation of ammonia fumes" that caused his vocal cords to spasm, blocking Anderson's upper airway.
The guards had said in an incident report that they used ammonia capsules five times on Anderson to gain his cooperation.
Siebert has consistently stood by his findings.
Siebert stood by his findings???? As if!
Give me a break!
Either this guy is so bad at his job, or he was trying to cover something up....its as simple as that.
Obviously Dr. Adams was correct....and he obviously found traces of ammonia. Anyhow...suffocation is obvious and there was evidently evidence to prove this to be the cause of death.
Aside from the fact that they killed this kid....its sad to think that they felt that this type of violence would make this kid a better citizen. Very strange mindset of this camp.
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
Amonia capsules? What the hell, never heard of that. If this is some kind of criminal camp for youngsters I can see the guards being tough but this is pretty extreme. Seven guards on one fourteen year old kid because he wasn't being cooperative? Damn.
HECK! said this in post #3 : Amonia capsules? What the hell, never heard of that.
Never heard of ammonia capsules or ammonia capsules in a camp like this?
They are compared to smelling salts...but from what Ive read about this case further on other news sites, the capsules were used to help kill him, not to revive him.
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
I'm sure that this is going to be a racial case before too long. It's just sad, all the way around. To have seven, full grown adults, on a 14 year old kid. Man... someone is gonna be getting some jail time.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Ammonia capsules are pretty potent to say the least waht they do is give you a very quick wakeup at least 10 times faster than smelling salts, they also do something to the lungs that cuases them to fully expand. Some army units use them and I know that bodybuilders use them before a big lift. You have to crush them first though. However no way should you use this stuff on a kid it can be lethal, like Mystic said it's probably helped to kill the poor guy.
11-28-2006 07:38 PM
