Delayed closure tortures
family
It's been nine months
since a teen beaten by boot camp guards died, but still no
charges.
By Abbie Vansickle
Published September 29, 2006
TAMPA - Martin Lee Anderson
died nearly nine months ago, collapsing after guards roughed him
up at a Panama City boot camp.
Since then, the 14-year-old's
family has waited for closure, for an answer about who is
responsible.
Their wait won't be over for at
least six more weeks. That's according to the family's attorney,
Ben Crump of Tallahassee, who says prosecutors gave him the
discouraging news last week.
"The longer it takes, everybody
loses respect in the system. ... It's taking far too long,"
Crump said.
Martin's family was so upset by
the delay that members tried to see Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday.
They were turned away; the staff said Bush's schedule was
already full.
"We feel it should be finished
before the election," Crump said.
Anthony DeLuise, a Bush
spokesman, said the governor shares the family's concerns.
Martin collapsed at the boot
camp, a facility in Bay County for troubled teens, on Jan. 5. He
died the next day at a Pensacola hospital.
A camp videotape showed nearly
a dozen boot camp guards surrounding the boy, striking his limp
body and pushing ammonia capsules in his nose. The tape outraged
legislators and the governor.
After questions were raised
about autopsy results, the governor assigned the investigation
to Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober. A second
autopsy concluded Martin died of suffocation, contradicting a
Bay County medical examiner's finding that he died from
complications of sickle cell trait.
In a prepared statement
Wednesday, Ober said he understood and sympathized with the
family.
"My office has made significant
progress during the past several months of our investigation,"
he said. "I assure the family and the public that my office is
working diligently as we continue to gather important evidence
in this case."
But Ober didn't give any public
hint as to when he would wrap up the case.
Crump said the months of
uncertainty are taking a toll. Martin's mother is in counseling,
he said. "They're struggling," he said.
State legislators Gus Barreiro
and Frederica Wilson, involved in the case from the start, both
also expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation.
"I am really disturbed by the
length of time it has taken to make arrests," said Wilson, a
senator from Miami.
[Last
modified September 29, 2006, 00:06:59]
