US: Students protest juvenile’s death in Florida “boot camp”

The protesters chanted, “Justice delayed is justice denied” and carried pictures of Anderson in his funeral casket with captions that read, “This is what democracy looks like.”

Martin Lee Anderson was sent to a boot camp in the Florida panhandle after he was caught joyriding in his grandmother’s car and then violated the terms of his probation. This boot camp was run by the Bay County sheriff’s office and operated under contract with Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice. A January 11 article in the Miami Herald reports that the DJJ operates about six such camps throughout the state of Florida, all run by county sheriffs’ offices.

The events surrounding Martin Anderson’s death give a glimpse into what occurs in these “correctional” facilities. A mere three hours after being admitted into the Bay City boot camp, Anderson was “disciplined” after he became exhausted during an orientation drill and stopped running. He was not even at the facility long enough to eat lunch before being subjected to a merciless beating that was caught on the camp’s security cameras. The footage, which received widespread publicity, shows numerous guards—up to eight at one point—punching Anderson with closed fists, applying wristlocks and other holds, and kicking or kneeing him repeatedly. The tape shows that this continued for a period of over 40 minutes. Anderson appears limp throughout the tape.

After Anderson complained of breathing difficulties, he collapsed and was taken to a hospital where he died the next day.

Outrage over the event only increased after the initial autopsy results were made public. Dr. Charles Siebert, the Bay County medical examiner, performed the first autopsy on Martin Anderson and concluded that the death occurred by natural causes related to a sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder. This seemingly absurd conclusion prompted accusations of a cover-up.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/apr2006/boot-a25.shtml