Martin Anderson's
parents complain about lack of action in case
TALLAHASSEE
- Martin Lee Anderson's family might have
to wait until after the Nov. 7 election -- or even a
year after their boy's death at a Panama City boot
camp -- to see if any of the guards will be charged.
Martin's parents
and their attorney, Benjamin Crump, said today that
they also wanted to meet again with Gov. Jeb Bush,
but he refused.
Crump said the
family was informed by the special prosecutor
probing the case that he might file charges in the
coming months, if ever. Crump said the prosecutor,
Mark Ober, had earlier told him and others that
charges would come this month.
Ober said in a
written statement that ''I understand and sympathize
with the frustration expressed by the family'' and
that his ''office has made significant progress'' in
the case, but he ``cannot give a definitive
timeline, (and) the investigation will not be
complete until I am satisfied that we have gathered
and analyzed all relevant information.''
A spokesman for
Bush said the governor, who signed an act cracking
down on boot camps after Martin's death and had met
with the family in the past, could not meet on such
short notice with the family because his work
schedule was booked up.
Crump said the
family just wanted 15 minutes of Bush's time. Gina
Jones said she wanted to ask the governor ''how
would you feel'' if his son had died in a similar
circumstance and no arrests had been made.
''The people should
be outraged,'' Crump said, noting the scrum of boot
camp guards were videotaped punching, kneeing and
body-slamming the 14-year-old boy in his final hours
Jan. 5.
An initial autopsy
of Martin performed by Bay County Medical Examiner
Charles Siebert -- done at the direction of the
sheriff who ran the camp -- said the teen died of
natural causes from complications of sickle-cell
trait, a blood disorder.
A second autopsy --
performed at the direction of Bush, who also
appointed Ober to the case -- found Martin died not
from the apparent beating or sickle-cell trait, but
due to asphyxiation, probably because of the ammonia
capsules the guards shoved in his face to revive him
after he collapsed during forced exercise.
Attorneys for the
guards say their clients did nothing wrong and that
Siebert's initial autopsy clears them.
But following the
May release of the second autopsy by Tampa Medical
Examiner Vernard Adams, the state Medical Examiner's
Commission, at the request of Attorney General
Charlie Crist, found a number of technical flaws
with other autopsies performed by Siebert. He has
appealed their ruling, saying the review itself was
flawed and too nitpicking.
Crump said
Siebert's appeal ``adds insult to injury.''
Crump said Martin's
parents are watching as ``everybody's going along
fine. And every day they're dealing with this pain
and agony knowing their son was killed and tortured
the last 30 minutes of his life. And not one person
has been held accountable after 10 months.''
Democrat U.S. Rep.
Jim Davis of Tampa, running against the Republican
Crist for governor, issued a statment pledging his
support in the case.
