IN THE NEWS: Boot Camp Death Trial in Full Swing
BACKGROUND: On January 5, 2006, Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year old Black teen, was placed into a Florida boot camp by his parents. Martin was eligible to be placed in a minimum security boot camp, but that boot camp was located hours away from his family/home. As a result, Martin’s parents decided to place him at another boot camp, which was close enough for them to visit or to see their son, if there any problems came up.
Only ONE day after entering the boot camp, Martin was dead. Martin was restrained by guards, kneed, hit in the arms, held on the ground, etc. all because he supposedly didn’t want to participate in exercises…complaining of being tired.
Unless you live under a rock or don’t watch national news, you’ve probably seen videotape footage of young Martin being restrained by a number of police officers at the camp—all while a nurse watched. At no point did the nurse intervene or even check Martin’s vital signs, even when he had to be held up because he couldn’t stay on his feet. The videotape clearly shows officers hitting Martin, even as he was clearly incapacitated—face in the ground. The officers say that juveniles frequently pretend to be sick and they thought Martin was playing around to avoid exercising.
But, Martin Anderson died. The first autopsy listed the cause of death as being related to Martin’s sickle cell trait. Everyone at the boot camp says they had no idea he had sickle cell trial and they say he died because of a form of sickle cell exertion.
A second autopsy, performed at the request of Governor Jeb Bush, lists suffocation as the cause of death. Seven guards (4 White, 2 Black, and 1 Asian) and one nurse (White) have been charged with aggravated manslaughter and other charges.
The case has strong racial overtones because many Blacks feel the State of Florida (including the first coroner) tried to engage in a cover-up to deny responsibility for the child’s death. Race is also a factor because not a single Black person was placed on the jury, leading some to think that the jury was stacked in favor of the defendants, who are predominately White.
Most Blacks don’t believe that the case would have unfolded the way it has, if Martin were a White boy. For instance, Martin Anderson’s family had to sue to have the videotape of his abuse released to the public. The family had to arrange a protest in Washington, DC in order to force the appointment of a special/independent prosecutor. And, the family had to fight for a second autopsy to be conducted.
BLOGGER’S THOUGHTS ON THIS CRIMINAL CASE:
I think it’s very telling that all of the civil lawsuits brought against various Florida agencies were already settled BEFORE the trial even began. Normally someone is tried and convicted or acquitted of a crime before a wrongful death civil case moves forward or a settlement is reached. However, in this case, with the victim being a child, palpable outrage was expressed by residents of Florida, as well as by general citizens of the United States. According to the lawyers for Martin Anderson’s parents, they’ve even received calls—expressing sympathy and anger--from residents of foreign countries including Australia, England, and France.
I think anyone who’s seen the videotaped abuse of Martin Anderson—by 7 adults, who were entrusted with his care—can see that the officers involved used excessive force on a sick child. It’s also evident that the nurse, who stood there and watched the abuse that led to Martin’s death, exercised gross negligence in performing her duties. A nurse is not supposed to stand as a witness to murder, yet this “woman” did stand there as a child was dying before her eyes.
If these individuals are sincere, when they say they thought Martin Anderson was faking, when he was ACTUALLY dying, they should all be forced to resign their positions and they should seek other work. These individuals failed Martin Anderson and his family and they caused his death. It’s convenient to blame sickle cell trait as the sole reason this child died. But, I personally don’t believe it’s truthful. Even if you want to say Martin’s death wasn’t caused by the abuse and force being put on him by the guards (including repeatedly covering his mouth while forcing him to breathe ammonia capsules through his nose), the stress and abuse he suffered that day surely contributed to his death—at the very least.
I watched part of the criminal trial on CourtTV and was completely disgusted, but not shocked, to see Martin Anderson raked over the coals. This child was repeatedly referred to as an “offender” to prejudice the jury. See, Martin’s dead. That means he can’t take the witness stand to talk about what happened that day. So, it’s open season on Martin Anderson and his family. He’s an offender and not a child. Pictures of Martin looking much older than his 14 years are being shown to make it appear that Martin was comparable to a man and, therefore, it was justified to man-handle him on the day he died.
Even Black children get the smear job, when they’ve been killed by those with authority over them—those who are supposed to serve and protect according to the rules of law. Martin was failed by the system and by individuals.
But, some good has come from his death. Governor Bush signed into legislation, the Martin Lee Anderson Act which replaces boot camps with juvenile facilities that focus more on education and counseling than discipline and punishment.
Thanks to pressure from Martin’s family and protesters, the State of Florida has already paid up and made some reforms to the juvenile system. Before the criminal trial, they’ve essentially acknowledged Martin’s wrongful death and the need for change.
Now, what remains to be seen is whether individuals will be held accountable for Martin’s death. What will the criminal justice system do for this child? What verdict will this all White jury return in the case?
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MARTIN ANDERSON CASE? Post a comment or send an email to blackonthejob@yahoo.com.
Only ONE day after entering the boot camp, Martin was dead. Martin was restrained by guards, kneed, hit in the arms, held on the ground, etc. all because he supposedly didn’t want to participate in exercises…complaining of being tired.
Unless you live under a rock or don’t watch national news, you’ve probably seen videotape footage of young Martin being restrained by a number of police officers at the camp—all while a nurse watched. At no point did the nurse intervene or even check Martin’s vital signs, even when he had to be held up because he couldn’t stay on his feet. The videotape clearly shows officers hitting Martin, even as he was clearly incapacitated—face in the ground. The officers say that juveniles frequently pretend to be sick and they thought Martin was playing around to avoid exercising.
But, Martin Anderson died. The first autopsy listed the cause of death as being related to Martin’s sickle cell trait. Everyone at the boot camp says they had no idea he had sickle cell trial and they say he died because of a form of sickle cell exertion.
A second autopsy, performed at the request of Governor Jeb Bush, lists suffocation as the cause of death. Seven guards (4 White, 2 Black, and 1 Asian) and one nurse (White) have been charged with aggravated manslaughter and other charges.
The case has strong racial overtones because many Blacks feel the State of Florida (including the first coroner) tried to engage in a cover-up to deny responsibility for the child’s death. Race is also a factor because not a single Black person was placed on the jury, leading some to think that the jury was stacked in favor of the defendants, who are predominately White.
Most Blacks don’t believe that the case would have unfolded the way it has, if Martin were a White boy. For instance, Martin Anderson’s family had to sue to have the videotape of his abuse released to the public. The family had to arrange a protest in Washington, DC in order to force the appointment of a special/independent prosecutor. And, the family had to fight for a second autopsy to be conducted.
BLOGGER’S THOUGHTS ON THIS CRIMINAL CASE:
I think it’s very telling that all of the civil lawsuits brought against various Florida agencies were already settled BEFORE the trial even began. Normally someone is tried and convicted or acquitted of a crime before a wrongful death civil case moves forward or a settlement is reached. However, in this case, with the victim being a child, palpable outrage was expressed by residents of Florida, as well as by general citizens of the United States. According to the lawyers for Martin Anderson’s parents, they’ve even received calls—expressing sympathy and anger--from residents of foreign countries including Australia, England, and France.
I think anyone who’s seen the videotaped abuse of Martin Anderson—by 7 adults, who were entrusted with his care—can see that the officers involved used excessive force on a sick child. It’s also evident that the nurse, who stood there and watched the abuse that led to Martin’s death, exercised gross negligence in performing her duties. A nurse is not supposed to stand as a witness to murder, yet this “woman” did stand there as a child was dying before her eyes.
If these individuals are sincere, when they say they thought Martin Anderson was faking, when he was ACTUALLY dying, they should all be forced to resign their positions and they should seek other work. These individuals failed Martin Anderson and his family and they caused his death. It’s convenient to blame sickle cell trait as the sole reason this child died. But, I personally don’t believe it’s truthful. Even if you want to say Martin’s death wasn’t caused by the abuse and force being put on him by the guards (including repeatedly covering his mouth while forcing him to breathe ammonia capsules through his nose), the stress and abuse he suffered that day surely contributed to his death—at the very least.
I watched part of the criminal trial on CourtTV and was completely disgusted, but not shocked, to see Martin Anderson raked over the coals. This child was repeatedly referred to as an “offender” to prejudice the jury. See, Martin’s dead. That means he can’t take the witness stand to talk about what happened that day. So, it’s open season on Martin Anderson and his family. He’s an offender and not a child. Pictures of Martin looking much older than his 14 years are being shown to make it appear that Martin was comparable to a man and, therefore, it was justified to man-handle him on the day he died.
Even Black children get the smear job, when they’ve been killed by those with authority over them—those who are supposed to serve and protect according to the rules of law. Martin was failed by the system and by individuals.
But, some good has come from his death. Governor Bush signed into legislation, the Martin Lee Anderson Act which replaces boot camps with juvenile facilities that focus more on education and counseling than discipline and punishment.
Thanks to pressure from Martin’s family and protesters, the State of Florida has already paid up and made some reforms to the juvenile system. Before the criminal trial, they’ve essentially acknowledged Martin’s wrongful death and the need for change.
Now, what remains to be seen is whether individuals will be held accountable for Martin’s death. What will the criminal justice system do for this child? What verdict will this all White jury return in the case?
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MARTIN ANDERSON CASE? Post a comment or send an email to blackonthejob@yahoo.com.
Labels: in the news
posted by S. Mary Wills at 11:01 AM
1 Comments:
I am most hopeful that the Prosecutor offered rebutal to the Defense LIE that thier expert Dr. Eichner was in fact a recognized expert in sickle cell trait exertional collapse. The Defense claimed he "coined" the term. This is absolutely untrue and disingenuous. The term was so called coined by reserch done by the Army Medical Corps. A Pub Med search reveals only two articles in non-peer reviewed journals by Dr. Eichner.
The fact is however, Martin did die of sickle cell exertional collapse.........because those control freaks imposed every horrific stress known to cause this rare cascade of events on this poor child. HYPOXIA or inadequate circulating oxygen is the primary cause. He was hypoxic from being suffocated, and so dehydrated from the ridicolous exertion and lact of fluids that his red cells were unable to deliver adequate oxygen.
The nurse HAD A HIGHER DUTY, PERIOD. She did not have a duty to diagnosis sickle cell exertional collapse. She had a duty according to her practice act to recognize symptoms of a life threatening state. My GOD she had a duty to recognize FULL CARDIAC ARREST. Even the mailman knows no heart beat, no respiratory effort, START CPR. I do not care if he died of a brain aneurysm. She had a duty to stop the assault based on recognizing the child was demonstrating signs of possible cardiac arrest. You know the shake and shout part of CPR
Darlene Nelson-Richardson, RN, CEN
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