|
Guards, nurse acquitted of
manslaughter in boot camp case
October 12, 2007
The Associated Press
PANAMA CITY, Florida: Eight former
boot camp workers were acquitted of manslaughter in the death of a
14-year-old boy who was videotaped being punched and kicked. The
scene sparked outrage and changes in the Florida juvenile system,
but it took jurors just 90 minutes to decide it was not a crime.
Anger over the verdict was obvious
outside the courtroom Friday, where bystanders screamed "murderer"
at former guard Henry Dickens as he described his relief at the
verdict.
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."
The defendants testified that they
followed the rules at a get-tough facility where young offenders
often feigned illness to avoid exercise. Their attorneys said that
Anderson died not from rough treatment, but from a previously
undiagnosed blood disorder.
The boy's mother, Gina Jones,
stormed out of the courtroom. "I cannot see my son no more.
Everybody see their family members. It's wrong," she screamed.
"You kill a dog, you go to jail,"
said her lawyer, Benjamin Crump. "You kill a little black boy and
nothing happens." He spoke outside court, which is across the street
from the now-closed Bay County boot camp.
Anderson's family repeatedly sat
through the painful video as it played during testimony. They had
long sought a trial, claiming local officials tried to cover up the
case. The conservative Florida Panhandle county is surrounded by
military bases and residents are known for their respect for law and
order.
The guards, who are white, black
and Asian, stood quietly as the judge read the verdicts. The
all-white jury was escorted away from the courthouse and did not
comment.
Special prosecutor Mark Ober said
in a statement he was "extremely disappointed," but added, "In spite
of these verdicts, Martin Lee Anderson did not die in vain. This
case brought needed attention and reform to our juvenile justice
system."
The defendants would have faced up
to 30 years in prison had they been convicted of aggravated
manslaughter of child. The jury also decided against convicting them
of lesser charges, including child neglect and culpable negligence.
Officials from the Department of
Justice in Washington and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of
Florida announced they were reviewing the state's prosecution.
Defense attorneys, however, said they considered a federal
civil-rights case to be unlikely.
Aside from hitting Anderson, the
guards dragged him around the military-style camp's exercise yard
and forced him to inhale ammonia capsules in what they said was an
attempt to revive him. The nurse stood by watching.
Defense attorneys argued that the
guards properly handled what they thought was a juvenile offender
faking illness to avoid exercising on his first day in the camp. He
was brought there for violating probation for stealing his
grandmother's car and trespassing at a school.
The defense said Anderson's death
was unavoidable because he had undiagnosed sickle cell trait, a
usually harmless blood disorder that can hinder blood cells' ability
to carry oxygen during physical stress.
|
