Mother Outraged By Boot-Camp Videotape

Says Tape Is Proof Guards Killed Her 14-Year-Old Son

(CBS/AP) 

It was not clear from the tape how hard the blows were or how long the ordeal lasted. The Department of Law Enforcement said the tape was edited to conceal other youths' identities.

News organizations had sued for the tape to be made public. State police had planned to release it when their investigation was complete, but said Friday they changed plans "due to compelling public interest and speculation as to its contents."

County Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert said the boy's body had some bruises and abrasions, but he attributed them to attempts to resuscitate the youth.

Siebert said Anderson suffered internal bleeding because he had sickle cell trait, a disorder that caused his red blood cells to change shape and produce "a whole cascade of events" that led to hemorrhaging.

"It was a natural death," he said.

Anderson family attorney Benjamin Crump said he was skeptical of the autopsy results and expressed doubt that the sickle cell trait, if it existed, could cause such extensive damage to the teenager's internal organs.

One lawmaker who saw the tape agreed.

"It doesn't make sense and goes against all the logic of watching what happened to this young man," Republican state Rep. Gus Barreiro said.

The Justice Department has said it will investigate the case, along with the FBI. The sheriff's department is also examining the case, CBS News' Jennifer Donelan reports.

"Based on fact, any violations of procedures will be dealt with in a swift and just manner," said McKeithen.

Federal officials planned to focus on whether camp guards violated Anderson's rights through use of excessive force or indifference to serious medical need.

Anderson was arrested in June for stealing his grandmother's Jeep Cherokee and sent to the boot camp for violating his probation by trespassing at a school.

The boot-camp concept for juveniles began in Florida in 1993. Five camps now house about 600 boys, ages 14 to 18.

But as Acosta reports, this is not the first time a teen's death has been connected to one of these programs. In Florida the case of Martin Anderson has state officials considering closing down their boot camps for good.

Barreiro, one of two state lawmakers who saw the tape, says it proves what he's been suspecting for years — that boot camps are abusing kids, not reforming them.

"The biggest problem is that we have people who are working with kids that have no business working with kids," Barreiro said.