No justice yet for boy killed in Florida boot camp in 2006.

[madfloridian]

Run time: 01:34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajYRHPz9Zrw   Posted on YouTube: April 10, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 12, 2009 By DU Member: madfloridian Views on DU: 3294

 
There has been no justice yet for Martin Lee Anderson. There was supposed to be a federal investigation about it, but nothing yet.

In a video from 2007 after the eight guards were set free by an all white jury, his mother spoke softly but angrily. Here is a Tampa 10 video interview with the parents of Martin Lee Anderson. I was amazed to hear them say he only "messed up" that one time. The whole media thing made it sound far worse than that.

His mother reminded us in that video that he loved to play chess:

“He loved to play chess. As a matter of fact, he won first place at his school, Emerald Bay.”

She wondered how the 8 guards were coping with what they did, although they were free.

His mother was in tears when she said that the faces of the nurse and guards were the last thing Martin saw, and she wonders if sometimes at night when they're huggin or kissin their kids, do they see Martin's face?

She said they were laughing and joking all through the trial.

Gina Jones, Mother
“It seems like to me if you look at everything like I was paying attention to it, it was like for the whole three weeks it was a joke to the lawyers and to the defendants. That's the way I felt. They were laughing and joking around because they already knew they were going to walk off and that's what happened.”

In case anyone has forgotten how quickly it all happened, here is the schedule for those events. It was his first time at the boot camp.

A travesty of justice in Bay County, Florida.

At 6:30 in the morning on June 5, 2006, Martin Lee Anderson is admitted to boot camp.

At 9:06 am the use of force begins.

At 9:45 am the paramedics take Martin Lee Anderson

At 1:00 pm he was transported by air to Pensacola to the hospital where he died the next day.

The guards who beat him were just acquitted as was the nurse who stood by.

In just over 3 hours they caused his death.

Here is the full 8 minute video if you can take it.

Martin Lee Anderson would have been 17 this January.

[Starry Messenger]

1. Thank you madfloridian.

Teen gulags are a scourge. This has to be stopped.

[Mithreal]

10. I second that. Thanks Madfloridian and keep up the good fight.

The more who know the stories, the better.

[imdjh]

2. Why the emphasis on race?

You, the Palm Beach Post, and Amy Goodman all mention the race of the inmate and the race of the jury, suggesting that the race of the jury makes it corrupt and leaving it to the reader or listener to assume that the boot camp drill instructors were white. That's playing into racism.

Or maybe I'm just reading that into the way it's been presented.

I'm also at a bit of a loss as to how a person can be suffocated and die the next day, but I"m not a doctor. It just seems odd. Apparently it seemed odd to the Bay County Coroner and three others, but Amy Goodman only saw fit to mention the findings of the coroner brought in from Tampa.

I'm not ignoring that this person died in custody nor am I indifferent to it, but he was in custody for a reason and youth crime is a huge problem in Florida as is delinquent and defiant behavior. Accidents do happen, and to suggest that this was somehow a typical or expected result just feeds the absurd allegations made against law enforcement on a universal scale as well as feeding into a false perception common enough that some can be swayed by people like the INPDUM to celebrate the murder of four police officers in Oakland or riot when a criminal is killed in a legitimate police action.

The fact that a young man would collapse from a bit of vigorous exercise, especially an athlete, suggests that there may well have been something wrong with him.

[madfloridian]

3. Your post is offensive.

I am white. I don't think the trial was fair. I don't think this kid deserved to die, even if, as you imply, that he was not healthy.

There were 8 guards and one kid...just a kid...one who just got there to the camp.

If you really care, read the links. I wrote a lot more about it as well. You can find it if you care.

This is about the new American Culture.

I resent your post very much. Bye to you for while before I say something I should not say.

Your post is absolutely offensive in every way. I think you and I have crossed swords on stuff like this before.

I am offended too much right now to answer you anymore.

[suzie]

5. The New American Culture? That's more than a little disengenuous on your part, madflorida.

As part of your constant attempt to paint Florida as one of the the worst places in America, madflorida, you left out a few things.

1. All the 5 boot camps in Florida were closed after this boy died.

2. Gov. Charlie Crist recommended that the state settle with the parents for $5 million. Bay County then agreed to settle with them for $2.4 million.

3. The Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (formerly the Bay County Sheriff in the County where this happened) resigned his position.

4. The Medical Examiner who performed the initial autopsy faced all kinds of inquiries into his professional conduct and eventually lost his position.

5. The State Attorney for the county in which the trial occurred reappointed the Medical Examiner. He then lost his re-election campaign--probably in due in part to this case.


None of this makes up for the loss of the boy's life. None of it changes the grief of his parents.

But changes were made in a whole variety of ways after the tragic death of this kid.

No one can change what happened with the jury. But the voters fired the State Attorney's ass.

There are lots of cases in which justice isn't done, but at least after this one, some changes happened.

[EFerrari]

9. It's very good to hear that changes were made in that venue

and madfloridian is wrong. This isn't new.

The disregard for the lives of black youth is as old as slavery and has been ongoing by other means since Emancipation. It is our national MO.

[madfloridian]

7. I forgot to say it is really not about race...it is about humanity.

He needed to be remembered. So make me the bad guy, I don't care. It needs to be said.

[madfloridian]

20. Meant to say not JUST about racism....also about our humanity.

Nothing like posting carelessly. Just one word makes a difference.

Yes, it is racism....but the whole picture is that we seem to take pleasure in harm done to others.

[imdjh]

17. In an effort to actually discuss this

I am white. I don't think the trial was fair.

I don't see what your race or mine has to do with this. You are entitled to thing that the trial was unfair. Was it unfair because you don't like the outcome? Was it unfair because you don't like what was actually being decided? As we know from other cases, determining criminal guilt and determining civil liability are two different things. The jury in question was only allowed to consider criminal guilt or innocence governed by the standard of reasonable doubt.

I don't think this kid deserved to die, even if, as you imply, that he was not healthy.

I don't think he deserved to die. The role of his health in the discussion though, was that the jury had to decide if what the guards did would have been reasonably expected to have caused his death, is that not the case? Given that these methods were applied to thousands of youth offenders without this result, then how could the jury conclude that what was done was a criminal act or intent?

I also think that because you dislike this particular corrections model, you are ignoring that the design was created to model military discipline and hopefully produce similar results while keeping the boot camp offenders from ending up in real prisons. As a result of this and some other cases, most of these facilities have been closed without, to my knowledge, a promising new system being put into place. So how many youth offenders are going to end up dead as a result of that?

There were 8 guards and one kid...just a kid...one who just got there to the camp.

In this case it happened that this kid was sent to the boot camp for an apparently minor offense, unless you consider that he was driving a car and wrecked it and the potential that had for true disaster. Others in the program are habitual offenders and violent criminals. Had it happened to one of them, would you feel the same way? Just curious. And do you know what we should do with youth offenders? Are you offering an alternative solution?

If you really care, read the links. I wrote a lot more about it as well. You can find it if you care.

I read your links, which is why I commented.

This is about the new American Culture.

The new American Culture is that youth offenders are growing in numbers and violence. We just had an 8 year old girl shot to death by an offender whose criminal history goes back nine years to AGE NINE. Nine years old. And what exactly did society do to prevent Paris Whitehead-Hamilton from being his latest and hopefully last victim? I find that very upsetting.

I resent your post very much. Bye to you for while before I say something I should not say.

I resent your post too.

[Jefferson23]

22. How the hell anyone can watch that video never mind the autopsy reports

and say what you have here is incredible.

[EFerrari]

8. You're just disgusting.

[Starry Messenger]

12. This isn't an isolated case, by any means.

Abuse in privately owned teen camps has been going on for awhile:

http://www.nospank.net/boot.htm

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/26/17250/8747/930/503496

If you google teen camp abuse you will find more stories. Martin's is one of the very few that has made it to the media in any significant way. I'm glad it is getting wider exposure.

[Time for change]

13. Why the emphasis on race?

Do you not believe that a lot of violence in our country is racially motivated, or that the race of the jury and the victim can affect the jury's decision? I don't see what is wrong with pointing out the race of the jury.

[imdjh]

16. What does it add or clarify?

These boot camps were created as a diversion program, to both keep from sending these offenders into regular juvenile correction facilities (with their known problems) and to try to cut the recidivism rate. Prisoners (and the occasional guard) die in prisons as well. It's not that it doesn't matter that martin Lee Anderson died, it's that you don't apply the same standards (or restrictions) to the guard in a correctional facility that you do in a high school.

As for the race of the jury, my point was that three articles (Madfloridian, Palm Beach Post, and Amy Goodman) mention the race of the deceased and the race of the jury but do not note that the guards were black, white, and one appears to be Asian. It's the way it's being presented that I find objectionable, and for that at least two posters think I am offensive and/or disgusting. Isn't that the way to have a discussion?

Do you not believe that a lot of violence in our country is racially motivated,

You use the terms "believe" and "a lot". Those are imprecise terms, but the concept is imprecise as well. The statistics can't really answer that question in hard numbers. All the numbers can tell us is how many crimes were committed and of those how many were committed across racial lines. GIven the way those numbers work out, I am inclined to believe that the vast majority of interracial crimes are interracial because the criminal and the victim in the major cities of the US are likely to be separated by race and economics.


or that the race of the jury and the victim can affect the jury's decision? I don't see what is wrong with pointing out the race of the jury.

Would you have pointed it out if they had convicted the guards?

I'm not saying that I'm immune from this mindset, or that I don't think in these terms from time to time. Just the other day when the verdict on Yousef Megahed was announced I thought, "Well, so much for not being able to get a fair trial." because it confirmed what I considered likely, ie that he was innocent. Then I immediately thought, "Well, they acquitted Sami Al Arian too...." whom I had thought to be likely to be guilty. In both cases you had Americans deciding the fate of a foreign national of an unpopular group, and they decided to acquit. There are many cases where we think we know what the jury will do and we are either pleasantly surprised or disappointed, so maybe what's actually happening isn't an analysis on how objective juries can be, but rather that they have much narrower issues to decide and we sit on the sidelines with expectations of a broader nature?

[Time for change]

18. You avoided my questions by telling me that "believe" and "a lot" are imprecise terms

Ok, I'll answer it. I've done a great deal of reading on the subject, and I very strongly believe that a lot of violence in this country is racially motivated, and that white juries are more likely to consider the deaths of black people insignificant than the deaths of white people -- notwithstanding the fact that my use of the terms "believe" and "a lot", and other words that I used in this sentence are "imprecise". And there are lots of statistics on that, though I can't quote them off the top of my head.

Anyhow, when someone emphasizes information like that in a story, information is added to the story. The reader can consider the information useful, or not. Madfloridian's use of that information in the story was not put forward as any kind of proof. It was just information. I don't see how anyone can reasonably object to that.

[suzie]

23. Boot camps have long been criticized by those within the criminal

justice community who deal with juveniles. As a diversion program, they were not designed to be that effective.

The big flaw in boot camps has generally been in the amount of time that a kid spends there. There are several things that work to help the kids who can be successfully diverted from juvenile corrections. One is a sufficient amount of time spent away from parents and other kids who are bad influences.

Others are educational programming, emphasis on obtaining job skills, and followup or aftercare. Boot camps were not designed with these in mind--but there are other programs in Florida that do have those capacities.

I remember hearing about the actual presentation of the case. Seems like there were some serious problems in the presentation of the medical evidence from the prosecution's side. Stuff that a jury was going to find confusing. And given that all the defendants were tried together, it probably also made it difficult for the jury to sort out levels of guilt.

One could argue that a mixed race jury might have also acquitted the defendants. If that was true, then from a prosecutor's standpoint, why seat an all-white jury? The prosecutor also hired back the former Sheriff who instituted the boot camp and who had been the FDLE head who was fired to work for him. He also reappointed the medical examiner--who had some other questionable stuff on his record.

The local populace seems to have asked whether they could really trust a guy who prosecuted cases in such a manner and answered "No".

[Raineyb]

19. It's no playing into racism it's pointing it out.

Perhaps it escaped your attention but when black people are victimized in this country there are a lot of white people, even those who claim to be progressives who can't be bothered to find time in their busy schedule to be outraged when an injustice is perpetrated.

Then again as you can't seem to understand why a fact would be mentioned in a story you must be one of them.

BTW your post is a rather rancid collection of words.

[madfloridian]

4. They were using "pain-compliance" techniques on him.

You know, the techniques that have been developed to cause real pain. There is a culture in our country now that approves of stuff like this. Yesterday I posted about a policewoman using a taser on a girl in a school hallway. There was no need for it.

Those of us who criticized the tasering got blasted out of the water.

This is the road to techniques of torture, and here at DU many are approving.

They used "pain-compliance techniques" against Martin Lee Anderson

Former boot camp drill instructors said Tuesday they would have changed a range of things on Jan. 5, 2006, when Martin Lee Anderson collapsed. “Looking back on this incident and knowing how it turned out, would you do anything differently?” attorney Bob Sombathy asked Patrick Garrett. “Everything,” Garrett replied, his face flushing and tears coming to his eyes. Former boot camp Lt. Charles Helms Jr. would have changed one thing. “I wouldn’t have let him in the boot camp program,” Helms said to the same question during his testimony earlier in the day. Garrett, Helms, Raymond Hauck and Kristin Schmidt took the stand in the fifth day of testimony in a trial to resolve the criminal charges levied against them in Anderson’s death. Former boot camp drill instructors Garrett, Helms, Hauck, Henry Dickens, Charles Enfinger, Henry McFadden Jr. and Joseph Walsh II, along with former camp nurse Schmidt, face charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and 30 years in prison each if convicted as charged.

..."Garrett, a sergeant at the camp, was around Anderson through most of his interaction with the guards. He said he was confused by the mixed signals coming from Anderson.

“He’s answering questions, and then he lets his body go limp. His ability to talk and his ability to breathe was one sign,” Garrett said. “Letting his body drop was giving me another sign.”

..."Garrett, 30, of Lynn Haven, said Anderson was talking throughout most of the interaction — saying that he was tired and wouldn’t finish a required physical assessment run. Garrett said Anderson got angry a few times and would tense up. That’s when the guards would throw him to the ground or use pain-compliance techniques, such as pressure points.

The nurse stood by and watched

PANAMA CITY | A juvenile boot camp nurse charged with killing a 14-year-old boy testified Tuesday that her job did not routinely require her to interfere with the actions of the guards.

Kristin Schmidt said she was only to interfere with the guards, "If I saw something that would cause an injury."

Lady, we saw the video. 8 big guards and nurse standing by. Using ammonia so carelessly. Just being tough. Beating him.

[madfloridian]

6. DU has become a place that makes one feel guilty...

if sensitivity and compassion are shown. I will continue to take the hits. I don't worry about it. It leads to a culture of cruelty we have seen the last few years.

Changes were made after he died, but his death is not justified.

[suzie]

14. Hey, madflorida, the people that you love to complain about, those no-good North Florida

Panhandlers got rid of the officials that botched the prosecution of this case.

[sasquatch]

11. I think Eric Holder better get odd off his ass and start working

[madfloridian]

15. Medical personnel watching as pain is inflicted....a pattern?

We knew in 2004 that doctors were complicit in torture

There is increasing evidence that U.S. doctors, nurses, and medics have been complicit in torture and other illegal procedures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Such medical complicity suggests still another disturbing dimension of this broadening scandal.

We know that medical personnel have failed to report to higher authorities wounds that were clearly caused by torture and that they have neglected to take steps to interrupt this torture.

When in our country did medical personnel monitor the use of pain compliance techniques?

The situations are different of course, but they are the same in one way....pain was being deliberately inflicted and doctors and/or nurses were observing.

That must say something about us.

[tooeyeten]

21. nothing new

something similar happened during the Vietnam era, no one was charged, no investigation, a 20 year old died, a family lost their loving son, end of story.

[Jefferson23]

24. How back-wards can a nation become, this is one indication of how far

away from reason we are regarding young offenders. The research has been available for many years but instead we ignore it and apply brutality as oppose to rehabilitation, guidance, support. Justice has not been applied until we destroy the offender, whether literally or break his spirit and any chance to redeem himself. If we were not so stuck in this pitiful quest for revenge and retribution, we could learn lessons from other countries, like Norway, and how they approach crime. Not everyone lives with this stain on their country, we don't have to and we should not.


One of the saddest thing about this story is that it will happen again, all in the name of justice.

[madfloridian]

25. Agree with you.

I see the zero tolerance mindset coming through here at DU often now. One good thing, though. I have read lately that several school systems are backing away from the zero tolerance.

This never needed to happen.

[Jefferson23]

27. That is good news, as zero tolerance as far as I'm concerned

has primarily been the answer to school boards litigation worries. What a horrible concept to teach children, zero tolerance = zero thinking! UGH

I'm glad you posted this video and story, people need to think.

[No More Bushbots]

32. Until the next Columbine

And Zero Tolerance will become the trend again.
School Boards are more concerned with litigation than education.

[suzie]

33. What does zero tolerance have to do with this case?

Did the kid get sent to boot camp for carrying a knife, gun to school?

[Diclotican]

26. Jefferson23

Jefferson23

What you mean about how Norway tend to approach crime?.. I know we have a whole other wiew of this than in the US, but how you think our system are compared to what US are doing it?

Specially when it came to juventiles?

And as some have said it once.. You can tell a lot of a country's caracter, of how they are treating ther prisoners..

Diclotican

[Jefferson23]

28. Hey this is great for me, you actually live there. I have read, not extensively

but enough to learn that some of the indicators pointing to a low crime rate in Norway are attributed to a majority of the people living a higher standard of life, health care etc. When it comes to the justice system, looks like Norway has figured out that if you treat an individual like a human being, he will not likely become a repeat offender. Tell me if that is a fair assessment or not?

[Diclotican]

29. Jefferson23

Jefferson23

It depend of how you ask i guess.. Some would tell you that the crime rate is way up, other would point out that our "system" is some of the best.. Some other again would claim that our "system" are just give the criminals way to much comfort when in prison...

But I tend to believe that everyone who are criminal indeed are an human being. Even a murderer or madmen/woman.. Some are just born "evil" I guess, but for the most part, it is a reason behind it all.. Not everyone reason is good, but they are there somewhere in the persons past.. And yes, even that our system IS not perfect by a long shot I guess it is some what better than others.. The reason to put people in prison are to protect the prisoner - and the other on the outside. Not to just punish the criminals with decades of time.. Off course you would always have persons who even in Norway would never ever again be free persons, but compared to many other country the life timers seen to be a minority in Norway compared to the others.. Who do time and then go back to society as ordinary persons... Even that we do have our repeat offenders who is going true the prison system as they ever have been, most Norwegians tend to be rather law abbiting people.. Most of us is not hat inclined to be criminals I guess. And even that we do have a lot of weapons, most for hunting at the look at it, we have not the same culture of violence that it is in the States.. Most Norwegian, tend to use their guns to hunt animals - not humans.. Even that we do have our share of weapon used in crimes.. ANd that is bad if you ask me..

We tend to have a high standard of living, even that i came with a price.. Our tax codes would scare the hell out of most americans.. But we do have a system who can help us, from the beginning to the end.. Our healtcare is free, or at least mostly free, and if you have a issue, you tend to get the help you are in need of.. Physical as psychical.. Have had my share of psychical help true the ages.. My mother and father had not the capacity to keep my brother and me at home, and the children's service was taking us from our parents. But thankfully we was given to some great foster parents who to this day I would say are the parents I know.. Even that I and my brother know both my biological parents well, still our foster parents are in many ways our parents.. And they have been there, from my age of 7 and my brothers age of 5.. And they have worked hard to get us where we are today. Even that it possible have cost them a lot of time and a lot of resources that I might never really know about.. Today I am living on my own, my brother is living in a group home, he have Asbergers syndrome, so he need some more attention that I do.. And we are even with our handicaps, living somewhat "Normal" life's.. Our system is maybe not perfect, but still better than the alternative if you ask me...

Diclotican

[Jefferson23]

30. Diclotican, thank you for such a thoughtful response. Any system

needs to be adjusted for the times we live in, needs change etc. Sounds to me that Norway has at the very least approached these problems from a pro active mindset. In the US, hopefully, we'll catch up some day soon. I hope to have the pleasure of visiting Norway at some point, sounds great to me!

[Diclotican]

31. Jefferson23

jefferson23

Off course every system need to be adjusted for the time we are living in, and need some changes now and then.. And our justice system have going true many different scales from very harsh, to what it is today. I would guess that most american, who are in prison, would be amazed to know that most Norwegian prisoners have their own cell.. And that most prisons are not over crowed either. Not as in many american prisoner, where you can have twice the number the prison was originally build for. That is the receipt for catastrophe if you ask me.. And have a lot of other right too.. Some would claim that it is better to be in a prison cell than to live on the outside.. I am little unsure about THAT, because you have not freedom when in prison..

You would be welcomed for the most part to Norway.. But you would also very soon discover that Norway can be on the expensive sorts of visiting.. So be sure to save enough money if you ever was to visit Norway..

Diclotican