Researchers Exhume 55 Bodies at Notorious Reform School
Source: The Wire
BRIAN FELDMAN
Researchers in Florida exhumed 55 bodies from the campus of the Dozier School for Boys, a reform school notorious for its brutal treatment of students that closed in 2011. That bodies were buried on campus is no surprise, but the specific numbers are significantly off from what records indicated. A 2009 investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement stated that 31 bodies were buried on school ground—24 fewer than were actually discovered (the FDLE survey relied on incomplete school records).
The University of South Florida research team described the burials as haphazard and unceremonious. Graves were at varying depths in the ground, and modern debris suggested that parts of the property were being used as a dump. Only 13 bodies were found in an area marked off as a cemetery on the school's grounds, and other remains were found under a road, beneath a tree, and in the forest that surrounds the grounds.
The Dozier School has gained a notorious reputation for allegations of abusive treatment by administrators. Many of the deaths at the school have their cause listed as "Unknown," and relatives believe administrators covered up terrible treatment. For example, according to NPR:
They're called the White House Boys — a group of men, many now in their 60s and 70s — who were sent to the Dozier school when they were children. They take the name from a small white building on the school grounds where boys were beaten. Jerry Cooper was sent to the school in 1961. He says guards beat the boys using a leather strap.
Read more: http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/01/researchers-exhume-55-bodies-notorious-reform-school/357483/
= new reply since forum marked as read
And it was only closed down in 2011???
