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Florida Eliminates Boot Camps For Kids

May 31, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The military-style boot camp system that Florida has used to discipline juveniles was formally dismantled under a bill that Gov. Jeb Bush signed Wednesday, nearly five months after the death of a boy who was punched and kicked by guards at a state-run camp.

Instead of sending juvenile detainees to boot camps where guards can push and threaten them, children will go to residential programs that bar physical discipline. They'll go through a full medical exam when they enter and leave their programs and have a hot line they can call in case of trouble.


The $11 million program, which counties can voluntarily join, will also offer detainees job skills training, community service and counseling.

"No child will have to go through what my child went through," said Robert Anderson, whose 14-year-old son, Martin Lee Anderson, died after spending time at the Bay County boot camp.

Anderson -- after whom the bill is named -- was sent there on Jan. 5 for trespassing, a violation of his parole set for helping steal his grandmother's Jeep Cherokee from a church parking lot.

Security videotape taken at the camp shows a half-hour encounter between Anderson at up to nine guards, who kicked and kneed him. Anderson died the next day at a Pensacola hospital.

"This won't bring your son back, but I hope you know your involvement in this process has helped make a difference," Bush told Robert Anderson and Gina Jones, Martin's mother.

Anderson's parents expressed their gratitude for Wednesday's change, but said they're still far from seeing justice done for their son.

"I would still like the guards to be arrested for killing my baby," Jones said. "He was only 14 years old."

While a first autopsy report stated that Anderson died of sickle cell trait, a second autopsy report released in May showed Anderson died of suffocation by guards who covered his mouth while forcing ammonia capsules up his nose.

Guards have stated in reports they tried to revive Anderson with the ammonia. No arrests have been made so far and the investigation into the death is continuing, said Pam Bondi, spokeswoman for special attorney Mark Ober. Ober is handling the investigation into Anderson's death.

"There's just no time line because it's an ongoing investigation," she said.

Anderson's parents have also called for the firing of Dr. Charles Siebert, the Bay County medical examiner who first ruled Anderson died from sickle cell trait, a benign blood condition, and not from physical trauma.

Siebert has consistently stood by his findings, saying they're based on science and not emotion. The state's medical examiners' commission is investigating complaints filed against Siebert, but no action has been taken against him, said commission chair Dr. Stephen Nelson.

Furor over how the state has handled the investigation into Anderson's death grew to a national climax in April when students from three colleges in Tallahassee staged a two-day protest in Bush's office. The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton joined the students and Anderson's parents for a march on the state's Capitol.

As he did during the protests, Bush urged patience. Ober must have all the time he needs to complete a thorough investigation, Bush said Wednesday.

Jones said she'll wait, but she won't give up.

"It's a long road ahead," Jones said. "I'm aware of that, so I'm just going to sit back and wait."

Meanwhile, the new program starts in July, when the 82 youths already at boot camps will also participate in the system, said Tara Collins, a spokeswoman with the state's juvenile justice department.

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Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. .
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