$5M Settlement In Boot Camp Death

(AP)  The family of a teenager who died after being roughed up by juvenile boot camp guards last year will receive $5 million under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died in January 2006 shortly after being kneed and struck and having ammonia tablets held to his nose at the military-style facility run by the Bay County Sheriff's Office in Panama City.

Crist and several other lawmakers successfully pushed for the settlement this spring despite the Legislature's general distaste for claims measures.

The state has already paid Anderson's parents $200,000, the most allowed by law without legislative approval. The bill signed by Crist pays the remaining $4.8 million.

"What's being done here today is the right thing to do," Crist said just before signing the document. "No dollar amount can bring Martin back. It's just."

The sheriff's office has separately settled with the Anderson family for $2.4 million. Seven guards and a nurse employed at the camp face manslaughter charges.

An initial autopsy said Anderson died of complications from sickle cell trait. But a second autopsy blamed the death on suffocation due to being forced to inhale the ammonia.

Anderson entered the camp for a probation violation for trespassing at a school after he and his cousins were charged with stealing their grandmother's car.

The Legislature abolished the military-style boot camps for juveniles last year.

[crimeguy41]

All of the people involved with this crime have been charges and enter pleas, check the local media for trial dates..You know due process even applies to everyone

[crimeguy41]

This case shows that even when the State outsources a governmental function it can never escape from final liabiality and in this case it cost the taxpayers 5 million $$. Then the legislature ended the operation at ALL the boot camps. Not all of them had such issues, the legislature just doesn't seem to have the courage to stay on one course.

[gramto7]

I said it when this story first came out, and I repeat it now. Anyone who is in charge of kids, and one of those kids is a sickle cell kid, NEEDS to make sure they know about the disease! The absolute LAST thing that child needed was ammonia crammed in his nose. He needed OXYGEN, probably fluids intravenously, and maybe even something for pain. He had evidently gone into sickle crisis, which caused the initial passing out/"refusal to cooperate". All of these people deserve the longest sentences allowable by law, most especially the nurse!

[jcadeckard1]

I think boot camp is too harsh for young kids because the adults that run these camps evidently grew up as troubled kids and go to far in trying to get these kids straightened out. Its about time their held responsible for their action. No parent would put their kid in boot camp if they knew the result was going to be death. A lot of parents don't know what else to do when they put their kids in these camps. Their just trying to do something to help get their kids straightened out.

[xzavierbrown]

*****No criminal charges against any of the sadistic Nazis that intentionally murdered this kid???....Oh,I forgot....it's a red state.....never mind, carry on.....
Posted by veteran71 at 08:34 PM : May 23, 2007
+ report abuse*****

Maybe you should take care of some of these "kid"s oh I forgot ..you just love to whine..never mind carry on

[bloggerbud]

Well said, JM rvel

[jm_rvel]

Not to say that this was not a dreadfully unfortunate situation. However, to feel sympathy to this family is uncalled for. Studies prove that it is in fact the family that determines whether a child will become a delinquent or not( According to the Office of Juvenile Justice http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/). While there are occasional outliers to these overwhelming statistics, the mere fact that the families upbringing and additional decision of having their own son sent to this bootcamp is a result of their own negligence. It is not like this teen was an angel, he already had a hefty criminal record , what is the likelihood that this teenager would not spent the majority of his life in jail? It is unfortunate yes but the truth is that he was violent and a threat to society and his actions that were no doubt learnt from his parents. The parents who now have millions of dollars from their poor upbringing of a criminal. And those %u201CNazis from the red state%u201D whom the previous commentators wrote of, they were African Americans not the racist Republicans you envision. In all, this was not a racial act or violent act against a child: but an accidental death of a dangerous teen which resulted in a large reward from his parent%u2019s negligence.

[ajmystic]

To Veteran71 - if you read the whole article it says that seven guards and a nurse face manslaughter charges for this young man's death. I personally think the charges should be murder, but I am not the prosecutor. At least these people will be held accountable in some form. My sympathy goes out to the family. I am sure they miss this young man every day.

[norshatakaha]

That is a shame he died from it.