A tragedy's lessons
December 3, 2006
The end of a nine-month
investigation into the death of teenager Martin Lee Anderson in a
Bay County boot camp has brought much-needed resolution to the young
man's family and all Floridians. Hillsborough County State Attorney
Mark Ober, assigned to the case by Gov. Jeb Bush, filed criminal
charges against seven guards and a nurse in connection with the
death. At the same time, Ober found that allegations of a widespread
conspiracy to cover up the facts in the case have no merit.
Anderson, 14, died on his first day
at the boot camp during a forced run. When the frail teen refused to
complete the exercise, guards roughed him up and constrained him,
then forced him to inhale ammonia after he collapsed. A nurse stood
by without intervening, seeking emergency medical care only after
Anderson was clearly unresponsive. Those actions, according to a
second autopsy done under Ober's direction, are what led to
Anderson's death.
"This conduct cannot and will not
be tolerated in our society, and none of us are above the law," Ober
said, explaining the first-degree felony charges of aggravated
manslaughter on a child. Each of the accused faces up to 30 years in
prison if found guilty.
The tragic death has already
transformed the way the state deals with juvenile offenders by
shutting down all boot camps, an appropriate response that
unfortunately did not come soon enough for Anderson. Methods used in
the military-style camps for nonviolent teens were always
controversial, and recidivism rates were high. Unfortunately, the
Legislature still hasn't put enough resources into juvenile
rehabilitation to really help troubled children without brutalizing
them.
Now the boot camp employees have to
answer for their actions in court. A judge and jury will determine
whether they committed a crime and, if they did, the appropriate
punishment. That is the proper way justice is meted out in our
society, not by physical altercations at a boot camp.
Credit should go to Bush for
deciding that the death deserved independent and competent review,
and to Ober for conducting himself professionally. The length of
time spent seeking the truth was clearly justified - although it's
good to get some clarity before a new governor takes office next
month.
Regardless of the outcome in court,
the tragedy is that a young man had to die to open our eyes.
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