Posted on Tue, May. 09, 2006
Crime and Punishment/Public Safety
Boot camps
The issue: Fourteen-year-old Martin Lee
Anderson died Jan. 6, a day after he was restrained, hit and kneed
at the Bay County boot camp for juvenile offenders. The initial
autopsy said Anderson died from sickle-cell trait, but both his
family and sickle-cell experts questioned that finding - their
suspicions bolstered by a videotape of the altercation with the
guards. His family demanded answers, and thousands of Floridians,
including members of the legislative black caucus, joined in the
call for a full investigation.
The outcome: Anderson's death did more than
just generate calls for someone to be held responsible; it also
changed state policy and did away with boot camps.
"The Martin Lee Anderson Act of 2006" was
passed by the Legislature and will close all boot camps and replace
them with a softer approach for steering kids away from crime. The
new system will be known as "STAR Academies," for "Sheriff Training
And Respect," and will emphasize family counseling, education and
post-release monitoring of offenders. Physical violence would be
forbidden, except for self-defense or protection of others, and
juveniles will get physical examinations when they enter and leave
the academies.
Anderson's death caused a ripple effect through
the 2006 legislative session.
Gov. Jeb Bush assigned Hillsborough County
State Attorney Mark Ober to investigate Anderson's death, after Bay
County State Attorney Steve Meadows asked for another investigator
because of his ties to local law enforcement.
After then-Florida Department of Law
Enforcement Commissioner Guy Tunnell, a former Bay County sheriff
who opened the boot camp when he led the department, exchanged
e-mails about the investigation with the current sheriff and
resisted efforts to have the videotape released publicly, Ober
removed FDLE and brought in his county sheriff to work for him.
Tunnell resigned after it was revealed that he made jokes about
civil rights leaders involved in a protest march, in which
participants demanded arrests in the case.
Results of a second autopsy released Friday
showed Anderson suffocated because the guards held his mouth closed
while forcing him to inhale ammonia fumes. Ober said the
investigation is continuing. So far, no arrests have been made, but
Anderson's parents said Friday afternoon they're encouraged someone
will be charged in their son's death.
Gun rights
The issues: After police seized guns from New
Orleans residents during the state of emergency following Hurricane
Katrina's landfall, Florida gun-rights activists were concerned
something similar could happen if a big storm hit Florida. Some
legislators also wanted employees to be able to leave weapons locked
in their vehicles at work.
The outcome: People who have a permit to carry
a gun would continue to be able to do so, even during a state of
emergency, under a measure the Legislature approved this session.
The "guns at work" bill ended up pitting
individual gun-owners' rights against employers' private-property
rights, and those usually are supported by the same people. The bill
died when the session ended.
DNA testing
The issue: Prisoners wanting to use DNA testing
to prove their innocence were up against a deadline. The Florida
Supreme Court granted an extension to give the Legislature an
opportunity to act on the issue.
The outcome: The deadlines were removed, but
there are some restrictions on use of DNA.
- Stephen D. Price, Jim Ash and Audrey Post
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