Author Topic: Just released ANderson did not die from Sickle Cell  (Read 2884 times)

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Offline Anonymous

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Just released ANderson did not die from Sickle Cell
« on: March 13, 2006, 11:08:00 PM »
Pam Bondi assistant state attorney in Tampa just released that statement
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2006, 10:01:00 AM »
local Tampa news coverage of pathologist press conference and boot camp protest in Tampa

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... t=0#181033
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2006, 10:03:00 AM »
Quote
On 2006-03-14 07:01:00, Anonymous wrote:

"local Tampa news coverage of pathologist press conference and boot camp protest in Tampa



http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... t=0#181033

"


sorry, here....  

"It's titled "Man still troubled by childhood at boot camp" under Action Video On Demand.



Also see Morning Press Conference with Pathologist

 http://www.abcactionnews.com/"
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Offline MomCat

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« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2006, 11:40:00 AM »
Thanks for sharing
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Offline BuzzKill

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« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2006, 12:35:00 PM »
Expert's conclusions bring relief to teenager's family
an ABC Action News report 03/14/06 - updated 12:12 p.m.
related story: Boot camp teen's second autopsy underway in Tampa (3/13/06)



TAMPA - After exhuming their son's body for a 12-hour second autopsy, the family of Martin Lee Anderson is finally getting some relief.

There has been no official word from state investigators, but the family's expert forensic pathologist announced two conclusions this morning: the 14-year-old boot camp beating victim did not die from sickle cell trait, as his first Bay County autopsy concluded, nor did he die from any natural causes at all.

"After a very thorough 12-hour medical autopsy in Tampa?we all agree he did not die of sickle trait," Dr. Michael Baden stated. "It didn't contribute or didn't cause the death, certainly."

Martin's case has made national headlines because there is video of him being apparently beaten at a Bay County juvenile boot camp just hours before he died. But a medical examiner ruled that his death was actually the result of sickle cell trait, a usually benign genetic condition not uncommon in African-Americans.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober was appointed to investigate the incident, so the family decided to exhume their son's body for yesterday's second autopsy in Tampa. Baden was asked by the family to sit in on that procedure, which took all day yesterday.


Gina Jones, looking much more at ease, spoke to reporters this morning.
Among those on hand was Dr. Charles Siebert, who conducted the initial autopsy for Bay County.

"He was there, he heard all of our opinions, he did not object or defend himself. The opinions were, of Dr. Adams and I, this was not sickle trait and the first diagnosis was wrong," Baden explained.

It could be weeks before the official results are released, but Martin's parents seemed visibly relieved by Baden's early conclusions this morning. The teen's mother told reporters that she had long known "the truth," but was pleased to finally have experts agreeing with her.

"I'm glad that I did make the right decision to pull my baby up -- which I did not want to -- just to get the truth out," Gina Jones said. "Now the truth is out, and I want justice. I want the guards and nurse to be arrested. It's time now."

"I'd like to say that this morning, I feel kind of at ease. Maybe my son can get his rest now. He can get some justice," added Martin's father, Robert Jones.
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Offline Anonymous

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Just released ANderson did not die from Sickle Cell
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2006, 10:56:00 PM »
Wow do you think it was the beating that killed him?
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2006, 10:00:00 AM »
Expert's Conclusions Bring Relief to Teenager's Family
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20DEATHS%20MA ... topsy5.htm

Boy's 2nd Autopsy a `Search for Truth'
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20DEATHS%20MA ... topsy3.htm

Boot Camp Has Few Successes:
Of 740 Youths to Complete the Program from 1993 to 2005, Only 74 Weren't Arrested Again
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20DEATHS%20Ma ... %20mod.htm
(the ironic thing about this is that rather than see sending kids away might not be the answer, they're talking about opening residential treatment facilities instead ... go figure)

Sheriffs: Lack of Money Hurts Boot Camps: In the Wake of a Teen's Death at a Panama City juvenile Boot Camp, the Sheriffs Who Manage the Camps Decried a Lack of Funding From the State
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%202006%20lack ... 0money.htm

For more articles:
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20DEATHS%20Martin%20Main.htm
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2006, 01:04:00 PM »
It might be worth it to send this guy letters or call and inform him of the connections w/ Sembler, DARE, DFAF and the rest of the sorry lot.  As you all know Sembler is all over the place down here and maybe we can get someone at the Times to finally pay attention.  I've seen more TV coverage of this the last few days than even when it first happened.  Maybe now's the time to get them interested in the whole[/b] story.



http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/15/State ... _out.shtml

New autopsy rules out natural causes in death

More tests are needed to determine a cause of death, but the second autopsy's initial results cheer the teen's family.

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published March 15, 2006

TAMPA - The Hillsborough County medical examiner has ruled out sickle cell trait and other natural causes in the death of a teenager beaten at a North Florida boot camp, a spokeswoman for State Attorney Mark Ober said Tuesday.

Dr. Vernard Adams headed a team of five pathologists Monday during a 12-hour, second autopsy of Martin Lee Anderson. Bay County Medical Examiner Charles F. Siebert Jr. ruled in February that the 14-year-old died not from the beating but from internal bleeding caused by sickle cell trait, a rare medical complication. Siebert observed Monday's autopsy in Tampa.

Martin's parents disputed Siebert's report from the beginning. Adams' initial autopsy findings buoyed their spirits.

"I'm just glad that the truth finally came out," said the teen's mother, Gina Jones, who called for the arrest of those involved in the beating, which was captured on a security camera videotape.

But the specific cause of the boy's death remains undetermined. Adams must perform more tests before he completes his report, which could take at least two weeks, said Ober's spokeswoman, Pam Bondi.

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Ober at the request of the Panama City prosecutor. The teen's body was exhumed Friday and transported to Tampa as part of Ober's investigation.

Meanwhile, a former New York City chief medical examiner asked by the youth's family to observe the second autopsy was the only doctor involved in Monday's procedure to speak publicly about it.

"We all agree he did not die from sickle trait," said Dr. Michael Baden, the New York pathologist, at a news conference Tuesday. "Sickle trait does not harm you. Martin did not die of natural causes."

After three days of facing television cameras and questions from reporters in Tampa, the boy's family returned to Panama City, where he was reburied at a cemetery there Tuesday.

"Maybe my son can get some rest now," Robert Anderson said.

"I'm glad that I did make the right decision to pull my baby out of the ground," the boy's mother said. "Now the truth is out. I want the guards and the nurse to be arrested. It's time now."

Ober has said that it will take months to complete his investigation, but Baden already has drawn his own conclusion.

"My opinion is, he died because of what you see in the videotape," said Baden, calling the youth "almost a rag doll" as guards beat him. "Even if correction officers do the wrong thing, it's very difficult to get past a grand jury, or any jury, when somebody does bad things while on duty."

Baden defended Siebert, saying the Bay County medical examiner simply made a mistake in the first autopsy.

"It's a mistake that can be made without bias," said Baden, who added that the team Monday had a more thorough medical history of the teen than Siebert did.

He said Siebert was in the room as Adams and his team worked Monday. Siebert didn't object to any of the doctors' findings or defend his report, Baden said.

A spokeswoman in Siebert's office said he would not comment on the second autopsy until the Hillsborough medical examiner completes the report. Baden said Siebert plans to consider changing his conclusions in the case.

During the news conference Tuesday, Baden noted that as a medical examiner in New York state for 30 years, he reviewed the the deaths of 6,000 prison inmates, and "not one died of sickle trait."

But Baden's own record shows he is not unfamiliar with sickle cell trait as a potential cause of death.

In 1992, Baden performed a second autopsy on an upstate New York man who died shortly after a police beating. He said "beyond a reasonable degree of medical certainty" that the man died from an "unrecognized acute sickle cell crisis, caused by hypoxia (a lack of oxygen reaching the tissues), the result of physical exertion and contributed to by the effects of cocaine and alcohol use," according to the Buffalo News. Baden was asked to do the autopsy by the New York state Correction Medical Review Board and the Erie County district attorney.

When an amateur boxer died after collapsing in the ring during a fight in New York in 1979, Baden, then New York City medical examiner, attributed the 25-year-old's death to cardiomegaly, an enlarged, damaged heart, and sickle cell trait. Both were listed on the death certificate.

"During the exertion, anxiety and emotion of his first fight, his bad heart failed and his red blood cells began to sickle," Baden wrote in a New York Times article. He also wrote that low oxygen levels in the blood can trigger sickling of red blood cells in persons with sickle cell trait, which then causes medical problems.

Martin Anderson's mother has said her son complained of breathing problems while running laps at the boot camp right before guards beat him.

Though Baden was representing the family, he asked for no payment other than reimbursement of his $300 plane ticket to Florida, said Benjamin Crump, the family's attorney.

Looking deeper at why the youth had trouble breathing should be a focal point of pathologists performing the second autopsy, said Dr. Joseph H. Davis, who worked for 40 years as Miami's medical examiner before retiring.

"Is there something wrong with this lad other than sickle cell that may have caused him to stop running and created the situation where he was beaten?" Davis said.

He read the Bay County medical examiner's autopsy report at the request of the St. Petersburg Times. Davis said that Siebert noted irregularities in the lungs that were consistent with asthma, but Siebert did not elaborate in his report.

If the boy's blood cells had begun to sickle, Siebert would have had trouble drawing blood during the autopsy and should have also noted that in his report, Davis said. He didn't.

"If Vern Adams says that they cannot exclude trauma in the death, then I believe it would be correct that trauma played a role in the death," Davis said. "The fact that he died so fast seems to indicate that there's something else wrong with him."

Davis said he thinks a combination of whatever pre-existing medical problem the boy may have had along with the beating likely caused his death. One without the other would not have killed him, said Davis.

Adams must still test more than 100 microscopic tissue samples to find out for sure.

"We know it's going to be a long journey to get justice," Crump said. "The family is committed, and we are going to stay the course."

Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Kevin Graham can be reached at 813 226-3433 or kgraham@sptimes.com
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Offline MomCat

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« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2006, 03:02:00 AM »
Pretty safe to say that most of us really didn't fall for the sickle cell story. I think it must have taken a lot for Martin's parents to decide to exhume their son's body and have a 2nd autopsy done. I read that the mom wanted to do it to not only find out the truth about her own child but in hopes of saving other children. She knew all along that her son's death was not of natural causes nor of the sickle cell trait. You don't die from the trait. And I read tonight that his body did not have the sickled cells in the blood tests that were taken BEFORE he died on the way to the hospital and at the hospital. They started to sickle after he died, so the 1st autopsy that said he died from sickle cell trait was completely wrong. The guy who performed the 1st autopsy attended the 2nd autopsy and it sounds like he's coming around and seeing that he was wrong. He did not defend his 1st autopsy report. The final results should be out in a few weeks, the articles are saying.[ This Message was edited by: MomCat on 2006-03-16 00:04 ]
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Offline MomCat

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« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2006, 02:32:00 PM »
In response to someone commenting they think that Florida does what other states do not do - actual rehabilitation of kids - and that most other states just lock up the kids.

Wow, I must be missing the boat.

She says the system of juvenile justice is not perfect in Florida, but that other systems just "incarcerate" kids, which does nothing to help them.  She warns that before going out and completely shutting down the system, we should be aware that the Florida system is better than most.

How many of you who know what's going on in Florida tend to agree with her veiwpoint? Am I missing the boat? Where is that wonderful system that does not incarcerate the kids? The same one Martin Lee Anderson was signed up for?

And here was my response:
 
I think we can all agree there are children who have special needs and who need help.

Sometimes, parents do not feel equipped to help them and seek outside assistance. Some start, usually, with their own family doctor or pediatrician, then move to therapists, psychiatrists, and so on.

Many professionals believe institutionalized care is the only way to go and do not offer other solutions to these parents. Sometimes there are other solutions close to home, and I am of the belief that any time a child can be helped while still living at home, it would be of greater benefit to the child and the family as a whole. I also believe it is a family effort and that if there is a problem with a child, there are usually other problems occurring within the family unit. In today?s world, no one should be ashamed to find themselves in such a situation, life happens.

And then there are those times when parents do not have a choice. Some unwittingly (not intended, not knowing) and unwillingly (not willing, done reluctantly) end up in the juvenile justice system, as is the case with most parents involved in this group.

As is the case with Martin Lee Anderson.

Yesterday the Palm Beach Post did a Commentary: Boot Camp Beating Leaves Jarring Image. Here are excerpts from that article:

[Some things just get to you, straight to the heart, and this is one of them:

The videotape of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, knees buckling, falling to the ground, gasping for breath.

Martin Lee Anderson, dying.

Anderson died after running laps and collapsing at a sheriff's boot camp near Panama City. The boy apparently complained of shortness of breath, but camp instructors egged him on, roughly insisting he continue.

A boot camp videotape later obtained by attorney Benjamin Crump shows the horrible treatment of Martin Lee Anderson.

"They started doing all these illegal maneuvers," said Crump, the attorney for the boy's parents. "Knee in the back. Pressure points behind his ears. Takedowns, which look like body slams to me."

Crump said it went on for 40 minutes. Anderson died the next day at the hospital.

The case is back in the news this week after they exhumed Anderson's body and redid the autopsy. The original medical examiner's report said Anderson, a healthy boy at 5-feet-9 and 140 pounds, suffered internal bleeding, pulmonary swelling, lacerations on his scalp and cut and swollen lips. Anderson was not the perfect child, and it was during a long afternoon at church ... Anderson, his younger sister, a cousin and two friends left services in his grandmother's car ... There was an accident, and police came ... the boy's grandmother didn't want to file charges, but "they told her she wouldn't get any money for her car unless she signed the papers," ...

Grand theft auto. All five of them, he says. Anderson was on probation the night he left his job at Burger King ... clearly against the rules, and when he was caught, he was charged with trespassing, a violation of his probation ... His parents ... were given a choice.

They could send him to a juvenile detention center in Jacksonville or Daytona Beach, or a sheriff's boot camp 10 minutes from his mother's Panhandle home. They chose the boot camp.

"... Anderson liked rap music, made the honor roll and had recently joined the chess team at school. But he was a kid, sometimes feisty about the rules. "He was an average little boy. No greater, no less," ... Crump said. It's hard to watch the final images of that average little boy.

... Why would someone do these things to a 14-year-old child?] click here for full article.

And that truly is the question here: why would anyone do something like that to a 14-year old child, to any child, for that matter?

Think about this. The punishment did not fit the crime. There are men in prison, some on death row for years, for brutal murders, and a myriad of other hideous crimes. They have their day in court, they have a voice. The death penalty is not easily decided upon and does not occur frequently. Yet Martin was handed a death penalty of sorts. Why? Because some men, and a nurse who appears to have cared less what happened to Martin, made the decision for him. They beat the life right out of Martin. Parents will be up in arms, and should be up in arms, about this issue.

I think that most people who have been affected by this industry in a negative way, and who are well aware of the abusive practices that occur, are going to speak out and want reform. The children deserve our support. It is for the children who have been abused, the children who have been neglected, and the children who have died that we voice our concerns.

Children, once locked behind closed doors, have no voice so it is incumbent upon us to be their voice.



[ This Message was edited by: MomCat on 2006-03-17 11:38 ]
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2006, 01:41:00 PM »
Makes one wonder if the money will really go to help the kids???

Miami Herald
March 18, 2006
JUVENILE JUSTICE: Boot-Camp Death May Unlock Funding

The death of Martin Lee Anderson could be the tipping point to help Florida's juvenile-justice programs receive more money and provide better care.

By Marc Caputo

Regardless of whether it will result in arrests or convictions, Martin Lee Anderson's death has left a legacy: It was a painful reminder that Florida's juvenile-justice system remains plagued by problems, lawmakers and others say.
State lawmakers are analyzing whether Florida should have juvenile boot camps at all, what kind of treatment they should provide and whether the budget for the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for next year is sufficient. Nearly everyone involved -- including lawmakers -- agrees that the $670 million to run DJJ is not enough to provide quality care.

''The death of Martin Lee Anderson has hit the juvenile-justice system in Florida like a thunderclap. It has drawn our attention more to what we're dealing with here,'' Bob Crowder, sheriff of Martin County, which runs the state's most successful boot camp, said Friday.
''There has been a lot of lip service, and support and encouragement, but it hasn't been reflected in the state's budget,'' Crowder told the House Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee, which is in charge of funding DJJ.
Neither Crowder nor the lawmakers blame Martin's death on a lack of money. The teen was kneed, punched and manhandled by Panama City boot camp guards hours before his Jan. 6 death, which is under investigation.

SECOND AUTOPSY

His death, blamed in the original autopsy on natural causes related to sickle-cell trait, cast a spotlight on the entire system, and led this week to a second autopsy. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's office said the second procedure showed the youth did not die of sickle-cell trait or other natural causes.
The head of the state's Democratic Party, Karen Thurman, said Friday that the party supports the effort of black lawmakers, who for weeks have been calling for the arrest of the guards and punishment for Dr. Charles Siebert, the Bay County medical examiner who performed the first autopsy.

For his part, Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach, the head of the House criminal justice appropriations committee, said Friday he'd like to call Siebert to testify. Barreiro said he also was receptive to Crowder's call to spend more, but the representative and advocates say they realize it will be tough to get much more.
They also note that Martin's death shouldn't have happened in the aftermath of the death of 17-year-old Omar Paisley. Omar died of a ruptured appendix in June 2003 after pleading with guards and nurses at the state's Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center for three days for medical care.
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Offline Antigen

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Just released ANderson did not die from Sickle Cell
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2006, 07:25:00 PM »
Psssssst!
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewforum.php?forum=51&139

Religions are all alike; founded upon fables and mythologies.
--Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, author, scientist, architect, educator, and diplomat

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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2006, 12:25:00 AM »
Many thanks. I hadn't noticed this before. It kind of makes you wonder with all the info out there, why on this earth does someone not stop this fucking shit from happening!?!?

OK, gotta vent once in a while. I know the answer, it's just so frustrating at times.

Keep on keepin' on. And thanks again.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2006, 12:30:00 AM »
Yes, Martin Lee Anderson has apparently, as referenced in the original autopsy that claimed he died of "the sickle cell trait," committed a whole new category of violation against the boot camp establishment:

Dying While Black.

Racist bastards.

Julie
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Offline Anonymous

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Just released ANderson did not die from Sickle Cell
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2006, 12:33:00 AM »
Yes, and it's pretty obvious where the money is going to go. It's disgusting, disturbing, and absoulely pathetic. The more I learn the more distressed I become. Yet I find myself seeking for more answers to so many unanswered questions. Thank you for opening up this site for discussion and for helping those of us who really do want to get to the truth and who hope they can do something about it, even if it's just a little something, something is better than nothing. I guess we just keep on chippin' away. The more info that's out there, the more websites created, the more chances are parents will find them and will reconsider putting their kids in a program or who will run like hell to pick up kids who are already in programs. I can tell you one thing - if I had a kid in a program and I ran into a site like this, I'd be on the next plane to get my child.

Parents, get your heads out of your asses, quit falling for the brainwashing shit they're feeding you, and go get your kids. Figure out how to deal with your family issues at home. Don't take a chance that your kid will become another headline. We have way too many already.
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