Convictions may prove difficult in
boot camp death
November 29, 2006
TAMPA — Even as family attorney Ben
Crump celebrated the arrest of eight boot camp workers in
14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson’s death, he acknowledged the
difficult road ahead.
“We know we’re a long way from a
conviction,” Crump said.
It’s unusual that so many law
enforcement officers were charged in the death of the Panama City
teen, legal experts say.
But it will be even more unusual if
the officers are convicted.
“Based on my experience, it’s a
difficult situation to prosecute a law enforcement officer because a
jury will have a sympathetic ear to their situation,” said
Gainesville-based State Attorney Bill Cervone.
Cervone’s office handled the case
of Frank Valdes . In 2001, five state corrections officers were
charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of Valdes, a
death row inmate. None were convicted.
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and
law professors agree that successfully prosecuting law officers is a
difficult challenge. Even with a videotape, as in the Rodney King
beating in Los Angeles, jurors vote to acquit.
The reason, experts say, is that
many people grow up with a positive image of law officers, wanting
to believe the officers’ motives and actions are pure.
“Officers are symbols of something
more than just individuals who have committed an offense,” said
Professor Kenneth Nunn of the University of Florida’s Levin College
of Law. “The jury may reach a verdict based on the value of those
symbols to them. Sometimes people use these cases to send messages
for support of the police department as a whole.”
Still, compelling evidence can
override jurors’ preferential treatment for law officers, according
to Stetson University College of Law Professor Robert Batey .
“Jurors are notoriously reluctant
to convict law enforcement officers, but on the other hand,
virtually all jurors follow the evidence,” he said. “If the evidence
proves those officers are guilty, they’ll convict them.”
Another potentially important
distinction is that the law officers involved were correctional
guards, not police, according to Howard Varinsky , a national trial
consultant.
Varinsky helped prosecutors pick
juries in the trials of domestic guru Martha Stewart, Oklahoma City
bomber Timothy McVeigh and wife killer Scott Peterson. He worked to
get former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos acquitted on
U.S. fraud and racketeering charges.
People don’t put corrections
officers on the same pedestal as police and might be less inclined
to side with them, Varinsky said.
But he suggests prosecutors seek a
venue change. Bay County is a largely rural, conservative place in
Florida’s Panhandle.
A case against prison guards
accused of killing an inmate, particularly a black prisoner, might
not find a favorable jury pool there, Varinsky said.
“I wouldn’t want it to be in that
county because it’s going to be more pro-law-enforcement and
law-and-order and conservative there,” he said.
“I have no idea on earth why
prosecutors would agree to that. ... You want to get to a big city
where there’s a black population or at least more minorities.”
The videotape adds a interesting
twist to the case, said Gloria Fletcher . She served as part of a
team of attorneys retained by the police union in the Valdes case.
It’s great that so many law
enforcement situations are taped now, she said, because videos can
bring clarity to emotionally charged situations.
She cautioned that jurors need to
understand corrections officers are trained to use forceful tactics.
Those tactics may look rough on camera, she said, but may still be
necessary.
People who doubt that should try
working in a detention center, she said. “They’ve never worked in a
correctional facility where one inmate out of control can lead to a
riot.”
And though it seems a tape would
bring clarity for jurors, that’s not always the case, said Cervone,
the state attorney. People will bring their own life experience and
perceptions with them as they watch the tape, he said.
“Video is very helpful,” Cervone
said. “But it’s in the eyes of the beholder.”
Researcher John Martin contributed
to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 226-3373 or
vansickle@sptimes.com.
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