Teen?s death prompts calls to shut boot camp

[stud3nt03]

Canadian resources would be preferred, but id accept US as well, ive looked everywhere and i haven't found much, even on government websites

[stud3nt03]

That is quite the observation you made there, and fairly accurate as well. This so called Nazi America is filled with capitalistic tyrants who are trying to gain power in the most desperate attempts. The 9/11 conspiracy is a saddening attempt by the Americans to gain control over the Middle East Oil Fields. Whoever does not believe that 9/11 was not a conspiracy, STOP LISTENING TO WHAT THE GOVERNMENT TELLS YOU. Luckily we have a few real heroes out there such as Alex Jones and Micheal Moore who actually went out and found evidence for us.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... cy&pl=true

[Anonymous]

Legislator has eye on juvenile justice
Barreiro says 'dream job' would be running DJJ
By Bill Cotterell
DEMOCRAT POLITICAL EDITOR


MIAMI - State Rep. Gus Barreiro has a simple explanation of why he is so deeply involved in Florida's juvenile justice system.

"I was that kid," the Miami lawmaker told an interviewer. "I grew up with a single mom, and if it hadn't been for a couple of strong male mentors in my life, I probably would have taken a wrong turn as a young man."

That kid, this year, was Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old who died Jan. 6 after being beaten by guards at a Bay County juvenile boot camp. The boy's videotaped ordeal - which brought thousands marching on the Capitol and galvanized lawmakers to replace boot camps with a more structured educational environment - was a familiar tale for Barreiro.

He decided to get into public office 20 years ago, when he ran a group home for boys in Wisconsin. A teenager committed suicide after being removed for lack of state funding.

As a state legislator, Barreiro became a vocal critic of the Department of Juvenile Justice in 2003 after 17-year-old Omar Paisley died of a ruptured appendix in a juvenile jail - despite days of pleading for medical help.

"That's the biggest frustration I've had," Barreiro said. "It takes tragedy to get anything done."

Barreiro, term-limited out of his House seat this year, wants to be secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice. But House Speaker-designate Marco Rubio, R-Miami, has approached him about working as a senior policy adviser, and Barreiro hasn't ruled out running for the state Senate.

Whatever he does, Barreiro said, he will stay involved in juvenile issues. As head of the House justice appropriations committee, he championed the bill that abolished boot camps - signed by Gov. Jeb Bush on May 31 as the Martin Lee Anderson Act - and won commendations from the legislative black caucus for his work.

That's rare for a conservative Republican. But amid the photos GOP lawmakers like to collect, showing themselves shaking hands with men named Bush, there are a "human-rights award" from the Citizens Commission on Human Relations, the Martin Luther King Award from the United Teachers of Dade Unity Caucus "for his contributions to civil and human rights" and a trophy from the Florida Children's forum "for commitment and leadership on behalf of Florida's youngest citizens."

There's also a football helmet signed by Joe Namath, a 1980 team photo of the Fighting Saints of Mount Senario College and several bits of Harley Davidson memorabilia. "Grab life by the throttle and don't look back" is the inscription on one little motorcycle model.

"Gus could be described as the best Democrat in the Republican caucus," said Luis Garcia, a retired Miami Beach fire chief who is running to succeed him. "Sometimes, I think he's had to pay for that."

Garcia, a Democrat and Miami Beach city commissioner, said Barreiro has broad bipartisan support in "a very diverse district" that bridges Biscayne Bay.

Barreiro, 46, was born in Cuba and came to Florida in 1964. A football scholarship took him to Mount Senario, a small Wisconsin college with specialties in criminal justice and public administration, but he dropped out.

He married and raised a daughter while running a juvenile group home for nine years. Barreiro returned to Miami in 1989 as co-director of the Dade Marine Institute for young offenders, then operated a rose-growing nursery and a golf shop.

In 1998, he succeeded his younger brother, Bruno - now a Miami-Dade County commissioner - in a 60-percent Hispanic district that stretches from the mansions of Fisher Island to the public-housing projects of Miami's inner city.

Barreiro said he asked former House Speaker John Thrasher to put him on "what was considered a punishment committee" by other legislators - juvenile justice. As a newcomer, he even fought Gov. Jeb Bush to get juveniles some exemption from the "10-20-Life" mandatory sentencing gun law.

After the Paisley death, he chaired a select committee on juvenile issues. Numerous DJJ employees quit or were suspended, staff training was upgraded and more cameras were put in juvenile detention facilities.

Barreiro also demanded the resignation of the late Bill Bankhead, then secretary of DJJ. When Bankhead's failing health forced him to resign, Barreiro sought the job but Bush chose Secretary Anthony Schembri.

"Gus Barreiro is an advocate for kids in the juvenile justice system," Schembri said, declining to discuss specifics. "I like to work with any legislator who is as passionate about the well-being of youth as I am."

Barreiro supports Attorney General Charlie Crist for governor. If Crist wins, Barreiro makes no secret of his availability.

"My dream job would be secretary of Juvenile Justice. I would do it for free," he said. "The department needs to have a major overhaul in the sense of the culture that's there.

"You really have to have leadership from the top that really sends a message throughout the department - 'We're here because of the kids, so let's get excited about it.' It's a great privilege to work with kids when you have an opportunity to change their lives."


Contact Bill Cotterell at
(850) 671-6545 or bcotterell@tallahassee.com

Originally published June 12, 2006

[Anonymous]

State knows what works but prefers what's cheap
Palm Beach Post Editorial

Saturday, June 10, 2006

After guards at a North Florida juvenile boot camp beat a 14-year-old until he collapsed and later died, no one is sorry to see Florida's six military-style camps closed. But Gov. Bush's signature last week on the Martin Lee Anderson Act failed to preserve the most successful program in the state for turning around 14- to 18-year-old boys who have repeatedly committed felonies.

Even though state officials and lawmakers touted the Martin County Juvenile Offender Training Center as the model for the state's new "sheriff's training and respect" (STAR) programs, legislative staffers wrote the law before getting feedback from Martin Sheriff Robert Crowder's staff. Said the sheriff: "I'm not sure what they've created."
 
Sheriff Crowder, who awarded high school diplomas Friday to the final 15 graduates of his program, is disappointed. The Legislature, though, gave him no choice but to close his program June 30. Asked by lawmakers early this year how much it would take to run his successful program, which has led to about 200 "delinquent" teens earning high school diplomas, Sheriff Crowder answered $3.6 million. The state still came up about $1 million short. "I've been fighting this battle with the state of Florida for 12 years, and I just can't keep doing it," Sheriff Crowder said. "If we continued to water the program down, we were going to be doomed for failure. It's their job, and they have drastically neglected it."

The new law, named in memory of a teen sent to the boot camp for taking his grandmother's Jeep Cherokee on a joy ride, correctly bans the use of stun guns, pepper spray, certain restraints and psychological intimidation, and ammonia capsules. Martin Anderson, the Hillsborough County medical examiner said, was suffocated by guards who placed their hands over his mouth while stuffing ammonia capsules into his nose.

Lawmakers vowed reform after a videotape showed the heinous abuse. But they didn't back it up with money. While applauding Sheriff Crowder's nearly 80 percent success rate, Rep. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, called Sheriff Crowder's budget request a "subjective" amount. "Other boot camps didn't need that level." No, and other boot camps had much lower rates of success.

"The state of Florida needs to realize," Sheriff Crowder said, "you cannot run quality on the cheap." Until that happens, the Martin Lee Anderson Act will be reform in name only.

[Deborah]

Posted on Wed, Jul. 12, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Boy's family sues agencies for $40 million in boot camp death
BRENT KALLESTAD
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The family of a 14-year-old boy who died hours after being manhandled by guards at a juvenile boot camp sued Wednesday, seeking more than $40 million in damages from state and local agencies, their attorney said.

Ben Crump, who represents the family of Martin Lee Anderson, filed the suit against the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Bay County Sheriff's Office, which ran the camp under contract with the state. He said Bay County sheriff's officials rejected an offer to settle for its insurance policy limit of $3 million.

The boy's January death led to protests in the Capitol and Gov. Jeb Bush's office, the resignation of the head of the state's law enforcement agency and the elimination of military-style boot camps. Anderson died in Pensacola after his videotaped ordeal with guards in the Panama City boot camp.

"A video proves that as seven guards punished Martin by kicking, punching, kneeing, choking and slamming him while they jammed ammonia tablets up his nose and covered his mouth, a nurse watched him slip in and out of consciousness," Crump said. "These heinous, malicious, and torturous treatments led to his death."

The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Court, which includes the capital city of Tallahassee.

"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of Martin Lee Anderson," DJJ Secretary Anthony Schembri said. "While unable to comment on the pending lawsuit, the department remains committed to the safety of the youth in its care."

Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen said no settlement has been reached because it would be premature to do so.

"The investigation is incomplete and still pending at this time," McKeithen said in a statement released from his office Wednesday.

State Rep. Gus Barreiro, a Miami Beach Republican who led the push to revamp the juvenile program, was outraged that Bay County officials rejected the settlement offer.

"It's a disgrace," Barreiro said. "You're asking a community to put a value on a kid and they're saying he's not even worth $3 million? That's unacceptable."

Crump said he based the $40 million figure largely on a similar Texas case where a jury in 2003 awarded the family of Bryan Alexander $40.1 million after the 18-year-old died after two months in a boot camp. Alexander was forced to complete intense physical programs despite his pleas for medical help, Crump said.

Anderson collapsed after an intense workout at the camp, where he was sent for a probation violation for trespassing at a school after he and his cousins were charged with stealing their grandmother's car from a church parking lot.

An initial autopsy found his death was natural, caused by complications of a usually harmless blood disorder called sickle cell trait. His body then was exhumed and a second autopsy concluded he died of suffocation when guards had covered his mouth while forcing ammonia capsules up his nose trying to revive him.

Waylon Graham, the attorney for Lt. Charles Helms, the highest ranking officer who was on the exercise yard with Anderson, said the case appears to be about money.

"None of these officers set out to harm this young man in any way," Graham said. "I think this has turned into a game of money and that is what this is all about at this point, is how much money are they going to get."

A special prosecutor, Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, is still investigating the death to determine whether to charge any of the guards. Ober spokeswoman Robin Menendez declined to comment Wednesday.

The head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Guy Tunnell, resigned in April after questions arose about his involvement in the investigation. He started the boot camp in his previous job as Bay County sheriff.

The fallout from the teenager's death also partially consumed the Legislature at its spring session. It passed a bill to replace the state's remaining boot camps with residential facilities for juvenile offenders. Physical discipline will be prohibited and the focus will be on education, job training, community service and counseling.

Florida had five juvenile boot camps at the time of Anderson's death. Sheriffs in Pinellas and Manatee counties closed their juvenile boot camps at the end of June just before the new law took effect July 1, leaving the state with just one facility in Polk County.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/ ... 022215.htm

More on Bryan Alexander
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/bootcamp
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... id=3561897

[Deborah]

Suing the Drill Instructors


The parents of a teenager who died after a beating at a juvenile boot camp in Panama City are asking a federal judge to let them sue the deputies responsible for that beating.

Fourteen-year-old Martin Lee Anderson died in January, just one day after being admitted to the Bay County Boot Camp.

Anderson?s ordeal was captured on videotape and that tape the centerpiece of a $40 million lawsuit filed by Anderson?s parents.

Attorney Ben Crump says they only wanted to sue the Sheriff?s office and the Department of Juvenile Justice, but a recent ruling by a federal judge forced them to include the seven deputies who can be seen on the videotape.

Crump is the attorney for Anderson's parents, "It makes it more complicated. We had sought to keep it very simple and straightforward. If a jury wants to believe what happened on this videotape was wrong, then they are holding the Sheriff?s Department and the Department of Juvenile Justice responsible."

He went on to say, "And we didn?t want to have it where we had individual deputies having to point fingers at the sheriff and the sheriff having to point fingers at the deputies. We were hoping to avoid all of that.?

The state attorney from Hillsborough County is also conducting an investigation into Anderson?s death and the deputies could end up facing criminal charges, but it will be several weeks before the inquiry is complete.
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/4501201.html

[Deborah]

Boot camp ex-guards, nurse charged in boy's death
POSTED: 11:49 a.m. EST, November 28, 2006
Story Highlights
? 7 ex-boot camp guards and a nurse were charged with aggravated manslaughter
? Martin Lee Anderson, 14, collapsed and died after being roughed up by guards
?The incident involving the teen was captured on videotape
? A special prosecutor was called in to investigate

PENSACOLA, Florida (AP) -- Seven former guards and a nurse at a military-style boot camp for juvenile offenders were charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of a teenage boy whose rough handling by the guards was videotaped, a special prosecutor said Tuesday.

The announcement by Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober comes almost 11 months after Martin Lee Anderson, 14, collapsed in the exercise yard at the Bay County sheriff's camp in Panama City.

Guards said he was uncooperative and refused to continue participating in exercises. He died early January 6 in Pensacola.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Anderson's parents, was in Panama City with the family Tuesday and did not immediately return a call for comment.

The boy's death sparked protests that led to the elimination of the military-style boot camp system and the resignation of the state's top law enforcement officer. His family had also demanded that the guards be charged in the boy's death.

If convicted, the former guards and the nurse who watched the altercation could face up to 30 years in prison. (Watch how a videotape led to charges )

Bob Pell, an attorney who represents former guard Joseph Walsh II, said he learned of the decision to charge his client from The Associated Press.

"I didn't anticipate it. I was hoping cooler heads would prevail, but we will deal with this as it comes down. We understood the political pressure that was brought to bear," he said.

An initial autopsy by medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert found Anderson died of complications of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Ober in February to investigate the death after the state attorney for Bay County asked to be removed from the case citing close ties with local law enforcement.

Ober ordered a second autopsy by Dr. Vernard Adams, the medical examiner for Hillsborough County. Adams determined Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to the actions of the guards.

He said the guards' hands blocked the boy's mouth, and the "forced inhalation of ammonia fumes" caused his vocal cords to spasm, blocking his upper airway.

The guards had said in an incident report that they used ammonia capsules five times on Anderson to gain his cooperation.

Siebert has consistently stood by his findings.

"We'll obviously follow the developments of this case closely and hope at the end of the day that justice will be served," Bush said Tuesday. "We also hope that once the process is completed that Martin Lee Anderson's family will have the answers to the questions that they legitimately have."

Anderson's family has sued the state Department of Juvenile Justice, which oversaw the boot camp system, and the Bay County Sheriff's Office, which ran the camp, seeking more than $40 million in damages.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/28/bootc ... index.html

[Nihilanthic]

Birds of a feather flock together, huh?

Washed up cops/military and dirty politicians and beaurocrats... oh how I hope they get such a warm spot in hell when this all comes to an end.

At any rate, I saved the florida times-union paper with on the front page saying they're being charged with the death of that kid. I want to fuckin' FRAME THAT  :rofl:

But yeah, it is a shame, isn't it? Someone has to die before anything happens, even though any idiot when asked about a bootcamp knows its meant to be a place where you're hurt, terrified, humiliated, and 'broken down', and any competent psychologist (or anyone with common sense) knows that wont fix or treat anything... well, except washed up military/cops, dirty politicians and beaurocrats.