Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Public Sector Gulags
The world will never know how Eric Perez died
Ursus:
Video news footage at the title link:
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NEWS CHANNEL 5 — WPTV
Video of Eric Perez's final moments in detention center may not be released
Eric Perez's mother cancels video release hearing
Posted: 08/02/2011 8:02 PM
By: Mike Trim
Photographer: WPTV · Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A teenager's death in a local juvenile lockup is now being treated as a criminal investigation.
18-year-old Eric Perez died last month at a West Palm Beach juvenile detention center.
Security camera video of his last moments may play a big part in that investigation.
By law, parents are allowed to have to this type of video, but the public isn't.
Prior to Monday morning, Perez's mother, Maritza Perez, said she not only wanted the video, but wanted everyone to see it.
That suddenly changed as Maritza Perez canceled the hearing at the Palm Beach County courthouse.
The hearing may have allowed her access to all video of her son's final hours alive.
Perez canceled the hearing through a faxed request from her attorney's office.
Eric Perez's cause of death hasn't been released, but his mother's attorney, John Caracuzzo, released a statement to NewsChannel Five.
"We wanted to cooperate with the state attorney's office with every extent we can," said Caracuzzo's statement.
Paperwork filed before the canceled hearing by the State Attorney's office asked a judge who would reside over that hearing to not release the video to the public.
The filed paperwork stated releasing the video to the public will cause irreparable harm to the pending criminal and grand jury investigation.
Medical records show Perez complained of headaches and violently vomited before dying.
Two detention center guards responsible for Perez when he died have been fired and the center's superintendent is suspended.
The State Attorney's office is tight lipped about which charges anyone could face if a criminal investigation finds fault with the detention center.
A State Attorney's office spokeswoman tells NewsChannel Five, "Our office doesn't comment on charges that may or may not be filed in the future."
Court papers filed by the State Attorney's office show the investigation into Perez's death is expected to take 60 to 90 days.
This is because it will take several weeks for the medical examiner's office to finish its report.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc.
Ursus:
The Miami Herald
Posted on Tuesday, 08.02.11
JUVENILE JUSTICE CASE
Mom drops request for video of son's death
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
CMARBIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Eric Perez (Photo provided)
The mother of a teenager who died at a South Florida juvenile detention center after seeking medical attention for hours is no longer seeking the video of his final hours at the lockup.
A hearing on the fate of the video, set for Tuesday morning, was canceled by lawyers for 47-year-old Maritza Perez, the teen's mother. Eric Perez, 18, was pronounced dead at 8:09 a.m. July 10, hours after he first starting vomiting and complaining of an excruciating headache. A guard from the West Palm Beach lockup told The Miami Herald he had tried to call 911, but was ordered not to by his supervisors. The guard has been fired, along with two others.
In a pleading filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court, Perez's lawyers wrote: "Let this serve as Ms. Perez's formal withdrawal at this time of her request for a copy of any and all video from the Palm Beach Regional Detention Center, as outlined by her previous attorneys' July 20, 2011" pleading.
"Ms. Perez reserves the right to renew this request at a later date," the pleading added.
Perez's lawyer, John Caracuzzo, said Perez met Monday with prosecutors, who persuaded his client to be patient while the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office presents evidence to a grand jury. Perez, Caracuzzo said, is eager to see justice done for her son, and is willing to wait for the grand jury to complete its work.
"Our first goal is to let prosecutors do what they need to do," Caracuzzo said.
Perez's withdrawal of her request for the video makes it unlikely the public will know any time soon exactly happened the morning of July 10 at the West Palm Beach lockup.
In the spring, state lawmakers passed a revision to Florida’s public records law forbidding the release of pictures or recordings that show a person dying. The bill, which took effect last month, included one exception: the spouse, parents or relatives of the deceased may still be given copies. Perez had insisted repeatedly she wanted "the world" to know how her son died. But if she does not seek the video, it is unlikely to see the light of day.
Since the youth's death, administrators with the Department of Juvenile Justice have fired three guards and suspended three other employees, including the lockup's superintendent, Anthony Flowers.
Copyright 2011 Miami Herald Media Co.
Ursus:
Comments left for the above article, "Mom drops request for video of son's death" (by Carol Marbin Miller, 08.02.11, The Miami Herald):
susanamalnati · 08/03/2011 08:59 AM
There is absolutely no excuse for any guard or prison employee not to have assisted a sick teenager up to the point to left him died in prison. !!!!! ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR !!!!!!!Nissey43 · 08/03/2011 09:51 AM
How the hell you tell a gaurd not to call 911 if a child is in need of medical emergancy? I been locked up before and let me tell you, these gaurds to watch the inmates milk the clock and treat everyone as if the murdered somebody. Jail could happend to anybody, even if you get caught driving with a suspended license. I remember burning up with fever in jail and they do not care they tell you to fill out a medical request and to respond it takes about 2 days. I feel very sorry about what happend to this boy and they shouldve called in a nurse to check on him at least to cover thier stupiditySofrito · 08/03/2011 11:30 AM
That's murder. What kind of monster watches a child die in pain and does nothing. I'm so revolted and sad about this.Observer101 · 08/03/2011 01:21 PM
I am still wondering...he was fine for the first 7 days after his arrest, and then he started "having convulsions, throwing up" etc.... I have to wonder what the autopsy revealed, and what REALLY HAPPENED? I guess we have to await the grand jury's findings, but even then we may never know for sure...
And YES, the guards, supervisors and others contributed to this boy's death....James Joyce · 08/03/2011 04:25 PM
....James Joyce · 08/03/2011 04:26 PM
....
Copyright 2011 Miami Herald Media Co.
Ursus:
The Miami Herald
Posted on Wednesday, 08.03.11
JUVENILE JUSTICE
State seeks reforms for juvenile lockups
While transparency is an important goal, it must not come at the expense of justice, Florida's top juvenile justice administrator said.
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
CMARBIN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Florida's top juvenile justice chief vowed Wednesday to work tirelessly until administrators know what killed an 18-year-old youth at a South Florida lockup, and said the state has developed plans to ensure other detained children fare better.
Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Wansley Walters released a short statement Wednesday saying her department is investigating the death of 18-year-old Eric Perez, and aiding probes by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office and West Palm Beach Police. Until the investigations are complete, Walters said, the agency will not be able to speak freely "about the incident itself and the steps we have taken to make us the national role model for juvenile justice administration."
"In the short term, DJJ's primary responsibility in this tragic incident is to ensure that these investigations proceed without delay or impairment," Walters wrote. "We won't rest until every question about Eric's death is answered.
"In the long term, we are determined to implement meaningful reforms that comprehensively improve how we serve the youth in our care and all our stakeholders," Walters added.
Among the reforms Walters is seeking: expanding statewide a civil citation and diversion program she implemented in Miami so that children at low risk do not end up in detention centers such as the one in which Perez died; reducing the number of children sent to locked detention centers; reforming the lockups themselves, and de-emphasizing residential centers in favor of prevention and early intervention programs for at-risk youth.
The push toward greater community-based interventions, Walters wrote, will "hold youth accountable, protect public safety, create jobs and promote healthy futures for children."
Walters' statement was released the day after Perez's mother withdrew her request for a copy of a video that depicts Perez's final hours at the West Palm Beach lockup, where he died June 10 after unsuccessfully seeking medical care for hours. The cause of the youth's death remains undetermined. Walters has insisted she wants her agency to be transparent and open, but not at the expense of hindering a criminal investigation into the teen's death.
"While I am committed to transparency in how we operate, I am also mindful that three investigations into this incident are under way, two of which are being conducted by law enforcement agencies," Walters wrote. "Nothing we say or do must compromise their work."
Copyright 2011 Miami Herald Media Co.
Ursus:
Comments left for the above article, "State seeks reforms for juvenile lockups" (by Carol Marbin Miller, 08.03.11, Miami Herald):
michael wind · 2 weeks ago
just go to the courthouse all you see is black and latino youth its a human tragedy,while the real big time criminals nothing happens to them.studd · 2 weeks ago
Put these children to work. China uses prison labor to build toys and other low cost production products. These prisons would be more profitable if they included all the children of families who are refusing to pay banks their mortgages. Open debtor prisons, and imprison whole families for the crimes of trying to cheat the banks. One in 5 homeowners in Miami refuse to pay their mortgage, they are stealing from Wall Street and those families and children belong in these jails working their debts off!!!
Copyright 2011 Miami Herald Media Co.
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