By STEPHEN GURR
The Times
GAINESVILLE
A White County judge dismissed murder charges Friday against six former camp workers charged in the restraint death of a 13-year-old boy. Superior Court Judge Lynn Akeley-Alderman ruled that the defendants had no way of knowing that the "full basket" technique they used to restrain Travis Parker would constitute reckless conduct.
Alderman dismissed charges of felony murder and second-degree cruelty to children against Ryan Chapman, Paul Binford, Mathew Desing, Torbin Vining, Johnny Harris and Phillip Elliott, who worked at the Appalachian Wilderness Outdoor Therapeutic Camp at the time of Travis' April 2005 death.
Vining's lawyer, Gainesville attorney Dan Summer, said his client was "overcome with joy."
"He's been living a nightmare," said Summer, whose client faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted of murder. "He's overcome with joy and relief, and I hope this is the end of the matter."
The judge's order, issued Friday, made clear that District Attorney Stan Gunter could present the case again to a grand jury and seek a new indictment on different charges.
Gunter did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. He has said in recent days that any decision to go forward with the case would hinge on the judge's ruling.
Harold Spence, an attorney representing Travis' family, said the boy's grandmother, Golden Griffin, learned of the judge's order late Friday.
"Quite understandably she was profoundly disappointed in the court's ruling," Spence said. "Indeed, she was shocked by the court's ruling."
Spence confirmed that last year Griffin received a financial settlement from the Georgia Department of Human Resources, which manages the camp for troubled youth. He said the settlement was less than $2 million, but "well in excess of $1 million."
"We think, quite honestly, that the significant financial settlement represents the state's acknowledgement that these six employees were responsible for Travis' death," Spence said.
Summer said Friday's ruling may have been difficult for the judge, but it "rights a terrible wrong."
"It's clear my client and the other defendants would have never known that applying a restraint as they were trained would result in harm, much less death, of this young man," Summer said.
"They were fulfilling a role as community servants, and it was a terrible shame that this young man died, but it was even more of travesty of justice that they were prosecuted for homicide."According to previous statements from officials and court testimony, Travis, who was 5-feet, 7-inches and 159 pounds, became unruly and was held down in a restraint technique commonly used by camp workers in the past. The boy was restrained for more than an hour.
Georgia's chief medical examiner testified in a pretrial hearing that the boy struggled so much while being restrained that he overworked his heart and died as a result.
The judge wrote that the underlying offense of second-degree cruelty to children depended on the prosecution being able to show the defendants were criminally negligent.
"The state has been unable to show that the defendants were aware or should have been aware of any clear, substantial, or unjustifiable risk created by the use of the restraint methods for any period of time," Alderman wrote in her order.
The judge wrote that "the district attorney's office ... is, as always, free to pursue any and all other appropriate criminal charges applicable to these defendants, if any."
Said Spence, "The prospect certainly exists that they might not be held accountable for what happened to Travis Parker, but we remain hopeful the district attorney will continue to pursue this prosecution."
Summer said he doesn't believe prosecutors could get a new indictment showing the men did anything criminal.
"You can't fit a round peg through a square hole," he said.
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