Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s decision to do away with the state’s boot camps is a case of “too little, too late,” in the eyes of Adora Obi Nweze, state president of Florida’s NAACP.

“Closing the boot camps is not the question,” Nweze told BlackAmericaWeb.com, one day after Bush signed into law the Martin Lee Anderson Act, a provision that marks the official dissolution of juvenile boot camps. “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Bush’s move comes five months after 14-year-old Anderson died shortly after being remanded to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Boot Camp in Panama City, a military-style program geared towards reforming troubled teens.

An original autopsy claimed Anderson died from complications from a sickle cell trait. However, a second autopsy showed Anderson, who was seen on a videotape being forced to the ground by six camp staffers, died from suffocation. The video also shows a nurse standing by as ammonia capsules were used to subdue the boy, whose violation of probation for taking his grandmother’s SUV on a joyride was the reason why he was sent to the camp.

"This is a serious matter, and it’s far beyond closing the boot camps,” Nweze said. “It says absolutely nothing to close the boot camps and not fire the people responsible.”

None of the staffers involved in the altercation that led to Anderson’s death have been relieved of the duties or faced with charges, nor has Dr. Charles Seibert, the medical examiner who conducted Anderson’s first autopsy. To keep them free of accountability is unacceptable, Nweze said.

“This sounds like just a political ploy, something that was done without any regards for the feelings of the family or for the serious problems found in these institutions,” Nweze said.

During the signing of the bill in Tallahassee, the boy’s mother, Gina Jones, echoed Nweze’s sentiments.

“I would still like the guards to be accountable for killing my baby,” the Associated Press quoted Jones as she held a picture of her son in a basketball uniform. “He was only 14.”

Jones was joined by Martin’s father, Robert Anderson, as they stood with Bush at the signing ceremony. The two thanked Bush, who gave them ceremonial bill signing pens and attempted to offer words of comfort to them.

“Your son won’t come back,” Bush said according to the Associated Press, “but you’re going to be part of something bigger than yourselves.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, who has interviewed Jones and Anderson on his nationally-syndicated radio show, expressed gratitude for the new bill.

“I applaud the State Legislature and Gov. Bush for swiftly closing down all boot camps across the state of Florida in the wake of Martin Lee Anderson’s tragic death,” Sharpton said in a written statement to BlackAmericaWeb.com. Like Nweze, Sharpton believes that closing the boot camps is just the first step.

“With new autopsies performed on young Martin’s body showing that he died from being forced to inhale ammonia while his mouth was blocked -- and not a rare medical condition as the original autopsy found -- it’s time for the special prosecutor to complete his investigation and put the fate of the guards allegedly responsible for this pointless death into the hands of a jury,” Sharpton said.

The boot camps will now be replaced by institutions that use more education and after-care instead of the aggressive tactics that have been said to be responsible for the deaths of other young men in boot camps. Funding for the boot camps will now be switched to cover expenses of the less aggressive institutions known as STAR, Sheriff’s Training and Respect.

Nweze and other concerned citizens are planning to stay on the watch to ensure that the new institutions are free of dangerous situations. They’ll hold a rally in Panama City Saturday at Tommy Oliver Stadium to call for the punishment of those allegedly responsible for Anderson’s death. They’ll also demand that Bush be sure to institute policy that keeps children out of harm’s way, regardless of the behavior that may have placed them in such a situation.

“We’re going to continue to put pressure on the state of Florida and the up to the U.S. Attorney General. I can assure you that much more will be done,” Nweze said, adding that NAACP National President Bruce Gordon is scheduled to speak at Saturday’s rally. “We don’t want -- nor should we allow -- this to happen anywhere else in the United States and someone get away with it.”