A tragedy in Bay County, Florida. There was no justice for Martin Lee Anderson.

[madfloridian]

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.

Guards acquitted in boot camp case

Martin Lee Anderson died a day after being hit and kicked by Dickens and six other guards as a nurse watched, a 30-minute confrontation that drew protests in the state capital and spelled the end of Florida's system of juvenile boot camps.

"I am truly, truly sorry this happened. Myself, I love kids," said Dickens, 60. He added that Anderson "wasn't beaten. Those techniques were taught to us and used for a purpose."

I have no idea how Mr. Dickens could say such a thing with a straight face.

The boot camp nurse, Kristin Schmidt, said she was only doing her job.

Boot Camp Nurse: It's Not Her Job to Interfere....shocking statements

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."

...."Ashley Benedik, Schmidt's lawyer, asked whether Schmidt was accustomed to youth pretending to be unable run laps and do other exercise. Schmidt said that was common in her 11 years at the camp.

"Being a rag doll, cannot breathe, 'I have another kind of illness,' there was at least one on every intake day," she said.

She was found innocent as well as the guards. I imagine she will always be remembering that day.

Remember the medical examiner who said the cause of death was sickle cell anemia? During the trial he was saying the medical community was coming around to his way of thinking. It is almost as if he were right. The verdict of the second examiner appears not to have mattered so much.

Medical examiner who blamed boot camp death on anemia...says medical community giving support.

Siebert was rehired in Bay County after his dismissal, and given a safe haven there.

Siebert, 45, who is appealing his dismissal, says he has backers in more vital corners: the medical community. Experts have come to his defense, calling the sickle cell trait finding credible.

"I'm actually looking forward to the trial," Siebert said in an interview at his office on a recent afternoon. "It's going to be the first time that all the truth comes out."

More at the link about Siebert's other faulty diagnoses.

Not surprisingly, there was an all white jury. In fact I remember reading that the six who determined the verdict were kept secret during the determination. Don't know if they were revealed now.

Boot Camp Death Trial Starts...all white jury.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — Protesters say they doubt an all-white jury will be impartial in the trial of seven juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse charged in the death of 14-year-old inmate. Opening statements were to begin Wednesday, and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP said it would demonstrate outside the courthouse over the jury makeup and the decision to hold the trial in Bay County.

"Collectively, these concerted actions by both the State Attorney and the Defense provide a stage for acquittal," NAACP spokeswoman Beverlye Colson Neal said in a statement.

The world saw the video, there can be no denying what happened.

There must be a sadness in Bay County, Florida, tonight. I don't think there is any way that a verdict like that can be swallowed as believable, honest, or ethical.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. This is egregious.

MKJ

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. I'm reminded of Emmet Till.

[DawgHouse]

3. I was shocked to hear this verdict.

So unjust. k/r

[madfloridian]

4. 300 protesters, mainly students, marched to the capitol in Tallahassee.

They met lawmakers who were equally outraged.

The US Justice Department said it was looking into the case and would "take appropriate action if the evidence indicates a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes."

After the verdict, about 300 protesters, mainly students, marched to the capitol in Tallahassee, chanting "no justice, no peace."

They were met by a handful of state lawmakers who said they were incredulous at the ruling. "This was not something he (Anderson) wrote in a journal. This is something that we actually saw. We saw him being murdered on television," said Frederica Wilson, a state senator from Miami.

[madfloridian]

5. "From what I've heard, it (the boy's death) was not something that could have been prevented,"

Those are the words of a Bay County resident.

More here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/269887.html

[NOLALady]

6. I would like to say that I am shocked.

Sadly, I'm not.

[madfloridian]

7. I had a feeling.

This would be the outcome. Very sad.

[orleans]

9. it's terribly sad. and so fucking wrong. i can't even imagine how that family must feel. n/t

[NOLALady]

8. And there are still those who do not get the reason we went to

Jena.

[liberaltrucker]

10. Reminds me, sadly, of stories from the bad old days in the South

When I was a child, I was told about how the KKK and other
groups of subhumans would lynch a black man for no other reason
than he dared to look at a white woman. Usually, the victim was
hanged, but sometimes was found found with a hole in his head.

The cops show up, the county coroner called, an autopsy done.
Invariably, the report would show cause of death as "natural
causes" or "heart attack".

Unfortunately, these atrocities happened in and near my
hometown. The jurors in the case are spiritual decendants
of Nathan Bedford Forrest, George Wallace, Lester Maddox,
ad nauseum. May the find their place in hell next to them.

:mad:

[NOLALady]

13. My Mom told me they would lynch them while in uniform

to send the message that their service to this country meant nothing. They didn't even pretend there was justification. Things have not changed very much. Now the justice system (law and order)is used instead of a rope.

[Dr.Phool]

11. They said it only took 2 hours to reach a verdict.

Oh, yes. Racism is very much alive and well in North Florida. I've seen the films on TV.

Absolutely outrageous.

The "Justice Department" had better step in. This is unbelievable.

[madfloridian]

12. There was a lot of local coverage about the anger over the verdict.

Caught it briefly, then switched to C-Span to see Governor Dean.

I think it took 90 minutes, which sounds to me like foregone conclusion.

:shrug:

[madfloridian]

14. Tampa Bay coverage with video of the protest.

They plan to protest again next week. Frankly I do not blame them. It says the DOJ is launching an investigation.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=65296

[Turbineguy]

15. These camps cannot be a good thing

in a modern democratic country.

This verdict may help to shut them down.

We'll have to find another answer.

[WinkyDink]

16. And the STATE is which one, again? Yeah, thought so.

[ThoughtCriminal]

17. "Tough Love" my Ass

It's "Tough Hate"

[madfloridian]

18. Federal officers will review the case.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/13/bootcamp.death.ap/

"PANAMA CITY, Florida (AP) -- Seven former juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse had barely processed an all-white jury's decision to acquit them in a black teenager's death before federal authorities announced they would review the case.

Since jurors on Friday acquitted them of manslaughter charges, federal prosecutors likely would have to try another tactic, such as seeking an indictment alleging obstruction of justice, legal experts said.

"It's too early to say that the final chapter has been written with respect to the criminal justice system in this case," said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Miami.

Florida civil rights leaders called for federal charges hours after a jury took 90 minutes to exonerate the eight in state court in the death of Martin Lee Anderson, 14. By Friday evening, officials from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tallahassee announced they were reviewing the state's prosecution."

[madfloridian]

19. Moving picture, Stogie.

Captures the sadness and tragedy. Thanks for posting it.



No justice for Martin Lee Anderson