A year has passed since the guards who beat Martin Lee Anderson to death were acquitted.

[madfloridian]

He was beaten to death by guards in a boot camp in North Florida. Seven guards and one nurse were acquitted in a court in Bay County, Florida.

The Federal review of this case is still looming. This article tries to present this possible federal review as preventing them from going on with their lives. I say Martin was deprived of his life, so I have little pity at all.

Inquiry Looms Over Acquitted Guards in Boot Camp Death


TERRY BARNER | THE NEWS HERALD PARENTS OF MARTIN LEE ANDERSON, Robert Anderson, left, and Gina Jones, right, flank Florida State Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, as Anderson's casket is exhumed on March 10, 2006.

PENSACOLA | A looming federal investigation and possible trial are making it difficult for seven juvenile Florida boot camp guards and a nurse acquitted last year of state charges in the death of a 14-year-old boy to move on with their lives, their lawyers said.

The eight left a Panama City courthouse with their jubilant families one year ago on Oct. 12, 2007, after jurors found them not guilty in the beating death of Martin Lee Anderson. The death and verdict prompted protests and Florida's juvenile boot camps were abolished. The eight employees were fired from the Bay County Juvenile Boot Camp.

"All of their lives have changed. They are no longer doing what was their first choice in life to do," said Hoot Crawford, lawyer for former camp guard Henry Dickens, who is now a hotel security guard. Dickens had wanted to dedicate his life to reforming juvenile offenders but "now he is doing something very different," Crawford said.

The federal inquiry remains open, said Karen Rhew, a Tallahassee-based assistant U.S. attorney. She declined to give other details or a time frame for a decision on whether or not there will be a second trial.

If I remember correctly they cheered as the verdict was read.

In the boot camp they used experimental techniques called "pain compliance" on Martin Lee Anderson who had just arrived at the boot camp that morning.

Garrett, a sergeant at the camp, was around Anderson through most of his interaction with the guards. He said he was confused by the mixed signals coming from Anderson.

“He’s answering questions, and then he lets his body go limp. His ability to talk and his ability to breathe was one sign,” Garrett said. “Letting his body drop was giving me another sign.”

Garrett, 30, of Lynn Haven, said Anderson was talking throughout most of the interaction — saying that he was tired and wouldn’t finish a required physical assessment run. Garrett said Anderson got angry a few times and would tense up. That’s when the guards would throw him to the ground or use pain-compliance techniques, such as pressure points.

Martin Lee Anderson

Maybe someday after all there will be justice for Martin Lee Anderson

The schedule that morning of the day he entered boot camp. It is alarming.

A travesty of justice in Bay County, Florida.

At 6:30 in the morning on June 5, 2006, Martin Lee Anderson is admitted to boot camp.

At 9:06 am the use of force begins.

At 9:45 am the paramedics take Martin Lee Anderson

At 1:00 pm he was transported by air to Pensacola to the hospital where he died the next day.

The guards who beat him were just acquitted as was the nurse who stood by.

One of the guards said Martin was not beaten, that they were just using the techniques they had been taught.

Martin Lee Anderson died a day after being hit and kicked by Dickens and six other guards as a nurse watched, a 30-minute confrontation that drew protests in the state capital and spelled the end of Florida's system of juvenile boot camps.

"I am truly, truly sorry this happened. Myself, I love kids," said Dickens, 60. He added that Anderson "wasn't beaten. Those techniques were taught to us and used for a purpose."

The nurse's words:

PANAMA CITY | A juvenile boot camp nurse charged with killing a 14-year-old boy testified Tuesday that her job did not routinely require her to interfere with the actions of the guards.

Kristin Schmidt said she was only to interfere with the guards, "If I saw something that would cause an injury."

In case you missed it here's the video:

A boot camp death

I believe the verdict was a year ago today. It stunned the world.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. If I were on the jury, I would have thrown the lot of them into jail

And it wouldn't have taken me more than two minutes to come to that conclusion.

[madfloridian]

2. They called it an "interaction". How dare they.

From the OP:

"Garrett, a sergeant at the camp, was around Anderson through most of his interaction with the guards. He said he was confused by the mixed signals coming from Anderson.

“He’s answering questions, and then he lets his body go limp. His ability to talk and his ability to breathe was one sign,” Garrett said. “Letting his body drop was giving me another sign.”

Garrett, 30, of Lynn Haven, said Anderson was talking throughout most of the interaction — saying that he was tired and wouldn’t finish a required physical assessment run. Garrett said Anderson got angry a few times and would tense up. That’s when the guards would throw him to the ground or use pain-compliance techniques, such as pressure points."

"interaction" my foot...that's called a beating.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. I call it a murder

No air quotes needed. The poor kid had no way out because no one there had any compassion for him.

[tnlefty]

4. A second autopsy revealed that the guards killed him when

they put ammonia capsules up his nose and covered his mouth.

Get on with their lives? :mad: I hope that none of them ever experience true joy or happiness again, especially that sorry excuse for a nurse, Kristin Schmidt. I'm feeling like one of the dementors in the Harry Potter books.

A 14 yr. old died at the hands of crazy adults for helping his cousins steal grandma's car (in my younger days it was usually a case of joy riding) and he was sent to that hell hole for trespassing on school property. Dead for damned near next to nothing.

I'm becoming more convinced that we're losing or have totally lost our way as a society.

I feel so bad for his parents.

[madfloridian]

5. What the nurse said was so sad. Sickening.

Here she is getting a hug from one of the guards who was on trial. Neither deserve sympathy when "doing their job" involves killing a young man.


Former Bay County Boot Camp guard Raymond Hauck consoles former camp nurse Kristin Schmidt after Schmidt testified Tuesday during the fifth day of the trial of eight former boot camp employees accused in the 2006 death of inmate Martin Lee Anderson.

Boot Camp nurse says it is not her job to interfere.

She says she steps in if injury is likely, and is used to kids faking illness.

Faking illness?? They were beating him!

"Schmidt and seven guards from the now-closed Bay County Boot Camp are charged with killing 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson in a 30-minute altercation captured on a surveillance video of the camp's exercise yard. The video shows the guards hitting, kneeing and dragging Anderson's limp body around the exercise yard as Schmidt watches.

Ashley Benedik, Schmidt's lawyer, asked whether Schmidt was accustomed to youth pretending to be unable run laps and do other exercise.

Schmidt said that was common in her 11 years at the camp.

"Being a rag doll, cannot breathe, 'I have another kind of illness,' there was at least one on every intake day," she said."

[tnlefty]

7. "There was at least one on every intake day:"

And I watched that wretched woman stand by watching what was going on. An insult to nurses everywhere, I would think. I have nurses in my family who wouldn't have stood by watching that. I was forced to learn more than I ever thought that I could when our first (a preemie) was released from the hospital.

So this pitiful excuse for a nurse and a human being watched this crap for 11 yrs.? No sympathy here and I hope that rest of her existence is a living hell, along with the rest of them. I realize that's an ugly sentiment on my part, but when did they lose any sense of right and wrong?

[madfloridian]

8. No excuse.

No sense of right or wrong. They were just "doing their jobs." Just using "pain compliance" techniques they had been taught.

Martin meant nothing to them but a way to use techniques.

[madfloridian]

6. Update: Decision may be cominng soon in federal review.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20081014/BREAKINGNEWS/81014013

"Former U.S. Attorney Gregory Miller said he has a "unique interest" in the Martin Lee Anderson federal civil rights investigation and understands why the boy's parents are running short on patience waiting for the case to conclude.

"I understand the family's concern and their feelings and disappointment that things have not moved quicker," Miller said. "There are a lot of witnesses being interviewed that are being re-interviewed and they're examining evidence. They're looking at every aspect of that case."

Miller retired from the U.S. Attorney's office June 30 and is now in private practice as a partner with Beggs and Lane in the firm's Tallahassee office.

In October 2007 an all-white jury found eight defendants not guilty in the manslaughter of Anderson. The case was racially charged since the 14-year-old boy was black and five of the defendants were white. Surveillance video captured the former Bay County boot camp drill instructors kneeing and punching the boy after he had collapsed while running laps in January 2006. He died the day after he was first entered in the program.

..."Though he couldn't comment on exactly when the case will be resolved, Miller did say, "I can't tell you where or when that decision may be forthcoming. I know it's getting to the point where a decision is probably going to be made some time in the next several months, but I don't have any input on that anymore."

Stalling, I wonder?

[Zhade]

9. "But all kkkops are honest and decent! Really!"

NT!

[Catherine Vincent]

10. Justice for all?

Not. :-(

[madfloridian]

11. None for him.

:(

[noiretextatique]

12. beating someone to death tends to "change your life"

:grr: hopefully the federal investigation with "change their lives" even more.

[madfloridian]

13. Indeed.

I wonder how many other Martin Lee Andersons happened in those damn boot camps in our country. We will probably never know.