Date Published: June 1, 2006
To make sure there's never another case like Martin Lee Anderson's in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law Wednesday that will scrap the state's juvenile-justice boot camps in favor of less militaristic facilities that emphasize treatment.
The governor credited Martin's parents, Gina Jones and Robert Anderson, for helping push the law, named after their 14-year-old son. He died hours after Panama City boot-camp guards beat him Jan. 5. He had been arrested for joyriding in the car of his grandmother, who attended Wednesday's bill-signing.
''This won't bring your son back, Gina,'' Bush said. ``But I hope you know that your involvement in this process has made a difference. Were it not for your advocacy and for your passionate love for your child, this bill would not have become a law. Your son won't come back for that, but you're going to be part of something bigger.''
The Martin Lee Anderson Act bans the use of stun guns, pepper spray, pressure points, mechanical restraints, ''harmful psychological intimidation'' and the use of ammonia capsules to revive kids.
''Nobody else's child will have to go through what my child went through by this law,'' said Robert Anderson.
WHAT HAPPENED
Martin was suffocated by a group of guards when they used the ammonia capsules on him after he collapsed from running laps on the first day he was enrolled in the camp, according to an autopsy performed by Dr. Vernard Adams of Tampa. He performed the second autopsy after Bush appointed special prosecutor Mark Ober of Hillsborough County to handle the case.
The initial autopsy, performed by Bay County Medical Examiner Charles Siebert, said Martin died of natural causes due to sickle-cell trait, a genetic blood disorder primarily affecting African Americans. Following the controversial finding, black lawmakers successfully petitioned the state medical examiners' board to investigate Siebert.
Siebert maintains he acted professionally, and says there's no medical evidence to refute his findings.
`FRUSTRATED'
No one has yet been charged. And Bush, like the parents, acknowledged he is ''frustrated'' by the slow pace of the investigation but urged caution. In the past the governor has said the guards' use of force was ''inappropriate'' and said Siebert's autopsy ``defied common sense.''
The dueling autopsies will make it difficult for the special prosecutor to make charges stick, according to former prosecutors as well as the lawyers hired by some of the guards.
''Charles Siebert is our star witness,'' said Robert Allan Pell, attorney for guard Joseph Walsh. Pell said his client followed strict procedures at the camp, and added that the governor's involvement ``has made this a political issue.''
Said Bush in response: ``They'll have their day in court if there's a need for that.''
The seeds of the law took root in the House Criminal Justice Appropriations committee Feb. 23, when lawmakers were surprised by statements from Christian Caballero, the No. 2 man at the state Department of Juvenile Justice.
Caballero refused to say whether boot-camp guards were allowed to punch, knee, choke, pressure-point or body slam nonthreatening children. Caballero did acknowledge that the boot camps, which sheriffs ran under contract with the DJJ, appeared to be able to use more aggressive means to subdue nonthreatening kids than other DJJ facilities.
No more.
The new law, pushed by committee chairman and Miami Beach Republican Rep. Gus Barreiro, renames boot camps STAR programs. It says the boot-camp replacements must come under the same DJJ rules as other juvenile facilities. It says physical force can be used only when a child is a threat to himself or others or if he tries to leave the camp without permission.
`MORE MONEY'
Bush said the law isn't just window-dressing, noting ``there is a prohibition of the use of ammonia, and a prohibition of certain types of restraints that had been prevalent at the Bay County boot camp. There is more money. There's aftercare.''
The Bay County camp closed soon after Martin's death, leaving four programs in the state. However, the camp that the Martin Lee Anderson Act is modeled after, in Martin County, also is shutting -- for lack of money. Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder said his camp emphasized more treatment and positive re-enforcement, but that Bush and state legislators shortchanged the program too many times.
Though the new law boosts per-resident daily funding from $81 to about $100, Crowder said his camp would need $130 a day for every kid. Bush noted the other sheriffs haven't expressed the same concern -- a statement Crowder dismisses, saying his camp had the lowest number of kids who returned to crime after graduating from the program.
`GIMMICKY TAX CUTS'
''Well, duh, the other sheriffs haven't had the results we've had. They don't have a 78 percent success rate,'' said Crowder, a Republican like Bush. ``The state had $6 billion extra dollars this year to make sure we got all the funding we all needed. But it didn't happen. They'd rather spend the money on gimmicky tax cuts that don't really help anybody.''
Even Martin's mother, Gina Jones, wants more. But she's not asking for money. Holding up a picture showing her son on a basketball court, she said she just wants justice.
''I would like to thank the governor and all the lawmakers for the support and what happened today, but I would still like the guards to be held accountable for killing my baby,'' she said. ``He was only 14 years old. Martin Lee Anderson.''
BY MARC CAPUTO
mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com
Miami Herald
June 1, 2006