An amended $5 million claims bill for the family of a teenager who died after being brutally murdered roughed up by guards at a state-supervised boot camp passed the Senate on Wednesday and was sent to the governor.

Gov. Charlie Crist and black lawmakers had led the effort to compensate the family of Martin Lee Anderson, who died in January 2006 shortly after being kneed, 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.

The state already has paid Anderson’s parents $200,000, the most allowed by law without legislative approval. The bill would pay the remaining $4.8 million of the proposed settlement.

“While no dollar amount will return their son to his family, compensating them for this tragedy is the right thing to do,” Crist said.

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

State Attorney Mark Ober, special prosecutor in the case, today announced the charges against the seven, who are being arrested this morning.

Charged are Henry Dickens, Charles Enfinger, Patrick Garrett, Raymond Hauck, Charles Helms Jr., Henry McFadden Jr., Kristin Schmidt and Joseph Walsh II, according to a filing Ober made today in state circuit court in Bay County.

“We hope at the end of the day justice will be served and at the end of the day the Martin Lee Anderson family will have the answers to the questions they deserve,” said Gov. Jeb Bush this morning.

Ober’s charges said in part the defendants, “did cause the death of Martin Lee Anderson by culpable negligence, without lawful justification or excuse, by neglecting Martin Lee Anderson by failure or omission to provide Martin Lee Anderson with care, supervision or services necessary to maintain his physical or mental health …”

The announcement comes almost 11 months after Martin Lee Anderson collapsed on the exercise yard at the Bay County sheriff’s boot camp in Panama City on January 5th.

Guards said he was uncooperative and refused to continue participating in exercises that were part of the boot camp’s intake processes.

He died early the next morning in Pensacola.

Heh.
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen told The Associated Press that he rejected a $3 million settlement because, “The investigation is incomplete and still pending at this time.” They have filed a 40 million dollar suit.
In my opinion, it’s to damn bad it wasn’t 400 million.
Did they not see the videotape of the sadist guards beating Martin Anderson? Believe me that jurors in a civil trial will.

The investigation which was removed from the corrupt hands of Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief Guy Tunnell, and assigned to Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, “is incomplete and still pending” seven months later.Makes me wonder..

No charges have been filed against the seven guards. There has been no resonable explanation for how the original coroner in the case, Charles Siebert, ruled from a suspended license that Martin Anderson died from an undiagnosed sickle cell trait.

Jeb Bush lied misspoke again when he promised reform. Change the name of the camps to “STAR” and then don’t fund them. Jeb Bush, you really have some answering to do..
Martin Lee Anderson’s family has gone to civil court. Perhaps the jurors will cry with and for them, I hope so…
This could have been your kid.

I have as yawl know, been following the death of Martin Lee Anderson for months,
I have emailed, called, faxed and even tried telepathy to get the truth..

Umm yes the telepathy part I made up.

This morning while wandering around the news, I came across a forum.
In the discussion, this kids mom, and family were insulted,
Martin was convicted of being a gang member,
And somehow..
Some Freaking how..

This has become an issue about race

This is not about race!
This is about a facility run by the state of Florida,
That willfully mistreated a 14 yr old kid
Willfully denied him medical treatment.
Willfully attempted to cover up the facts in the case
Willfully spread lies about the kid
Willfully has refused to make charges.

Frankly I don’t care if Martian Anderson was black, orange, green or purple, or white.
I don’t care if he was a junkie gang member.
Because it does not matter.

I do care that justice is done, and that the truth is told.
That those who were accountable for the well being of each kid in these camps
Are held accountable.

I am starting to wonder…………….

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Well..

Just….
I have some Questions you don’t want to answer
And I thank you for your polite refusal
(ask me Jeb refused to speak to me last week)

And so I just wonder
What the hell you’re trying to do here
Cause If you seriously
Believed this child was murdered.. And you are the governor
Why have there been no charges?
After a 5 month investigation?

Why are murderers sadist guards free?
Why was the sadist nurse not charged?
Heck for that matter
WHY HAVE THERE BEEN NO CHARGES?
Why was the top official of the FDLE?
Transferred to cold cases?
Why was the sheriff in charge of the camp not fired?
Why is he still working for the state of Florida?
Hey Mr. Governor
Blow some smoke up someone else’s pant sleeves
Cause I as a republican and a resident of Florida am not buying into this
Have a nice day Mr. Governor
And I am not going away
So..
well we have the same damn camps with a new name
Way to go Jeb
You wont make me vote for you ..
but Im just a pissant
But I have a voice
And you make me ashamed
You Should be ashamed

Was the first autopsy by Bay County Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert the result of pressure exerted on him to cover-up Martin Lee Andersons beating. According to Florida state law “the medical examiner of the district in which the death occurred, or the body was found shall — determine the cause of death.”

Martin Andersons body was illegally moved to allow Siebert to do the autopsy.Why?

Evidence of incompetence has been clearly proven, yet no action has been taken.
Point of fact, his license had expired during this time period.

Good grief he said a 34 yr old woman had testicles for heavens sake! Three autopsies are to be reviewed because of glaring and I do mean glaring errors.

Ex-Florida Department Law Enforcement director Guy Tunnell compromised the investigation into Anderson’s death, forcing his resignation.

Guy Tunnell resigned from FDLE in April amidst controversy over friendly messages he e-mailed to the Bay County Sheriff. Other e-mails about the case sent by the Bay County State Attorney have been erased.
It is simply impossible to see the video of the well trained sadist guards to believe no crime has been committed.
Yet more than four months later, No one has been charged.

Boot-camp murder cover-up is the result of the good ol boy network.
Jeb Bush did not allow his daughter into a boot camp, which he so highly endorsed.

Yet the family of Martin Anderson who was fourteen years old at the time of his murder,
Convicted of joyriding and trespass, is expected to stand bye while the murderers freely without consequence carry on their lives.

Any thinking person, who cannot see the injustice going on here, lives on Mars. Or somewhere.

American law demands a thorough investigation into what happened before, during and after young Martin Anderson’s death.

Too sad it is not going to happen.

At the time of his appointment as head of the Florida department of Law Enforcement
There had been accusations of racism. See here
Well Mr. Tunnell proved by his comments during the handling of the investigation in young Martin Andersons death that he was indeed a racist unfit to hold the post.
His department was removed from the investigation.

While coverage of his resignation was speculative, it’s now clear that he did in fact
Make racial and derogatory comments.

Tunnell submitted his resignation to Gov. Jeb Bush hours after The Miami Herald requested he comment on whether he likened U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to terrorist leader bin Laden and the Rev. Jesse Jackson to outlaw James during a meeting of Bush’s agency heads Tuesday. One person in the room and another source who spoke with an agency head told The Miami Herald about his remarks.
But apparently being a racist is ok, as long as you’re a part of the good ol boy network in Florida.

14th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Steve Meadows stated
. “His 33 years of law enforcement experience is too valuable to let any short-term political considerations interfere with what is the most effective program for our citizens.”
Whatever….
It’s also a bit odd that none of the guards or the nurse responsible for the murder of Martin Anderson have been charged. Or maybe its not.

Frank McKeithen says that there is no reason to fire Thompson.
Sheriff’s Lt. Charles Helms, says there is a “witch hunt” going on.

Let’s think about this…

A 14 yr old boy dies after being brutally beaten, but there is no responsibility
By the supervisor who knew or should have known that his sadists guards were using excessive force?
Golly, what a concept.

Carried a couple steps further the sadists guards have no responsibility for Martin Lee Anderson”s death because they were carrying out the torture training by methods they were taught.

And if you really want to continue down that ridiculous line of thought.. Well never mind because it’s too absurd.
Sheriffs, who ran the boot camps, also will operate the newly designed program that will be monitored by state officials.

Professor Kim’s News Notes also has been covering some of this case.

There are a number of troubling issues that are being, Well ignored. There have been no charges,to the brutal sadist guards or the sadist Florence nightingale who ignored what was clearly happening , standing by unconcerned while Martin Anderson was tortured.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, headed by former Bay County sheriff and boot camp founder Guy Tunnell, assured Floridians he would be fair and impartial, while investigating the teen’s death at a Panama City boot camp.
While his agency was investigating the boot camp, Tunnell kept a running commentary going
Via email to Sheriff Frank McKeithen, other boot camp sheriffs and his own staff in which he made many personal observations and disparaged critics of his investigation and the state’s boot camps.

Some of these emails are now missing.
Gee, I wonder how that happened.

The investigation has since been turned over to a special prosecutor, Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober

Sheriff’s Lieutenant Charles Helms “knows what’s coming next” after an autopsy determined guards caused the 14-year-old’s death.He claims that the investigation is now going to be a “witch hunt”. Helms was second in command and was present when the teen was beaten.

”These are fine young men who cared about these kids, they are not thugs or racists,” said Bob Pell, an attorney for Bay County Sheriff’s Office Boot Camp guard Joseph Walsh.
Please if this is how they show their care, I don’t think that I can stomach watching a video that shows them uncaring.

Graham and the other attorneys said the guards were doing what they were trained to do when they applied knee strikes and hammer-like punches to 14-year-old Martin Anderson’s legs and arms during the 30-minute torture.

I am sure we will continue to hear that these are false accusations; after all if you brutally murder some kid while carrying out your bosses orders, you’re just doing your job.

Let’s see that must be sadism 101…or I know!
It’s your basic torture kids and have fun doing it class.

Let’s not forget the truly brilliant Dr. Charles F. Siebert Jr Bay County medical examiner that has a few things to explain, among them: two autopsies of Donna Reed and James Terry, a father and daughter who were killed by a tornado during Hurricane Ivan on Sept. 15, 2004.

Siebert’s autopsy described Reed, a 34-year-old woman, as having “unremarkable” testicles and said Terry had no scars, though the truck driver had a seven-inch scar along his spine.
Siebert’s autopsy report noted no major wounds on his body even though there were several, including some on his belly and back and a 12-inch wound along his shoulder blade that Mrs. Terry said required 80 stitches to close.

I’m sure he just didn’t notice, after all 80 stitches on a twelve inch wound probably are hard to see.
And really anyone could mistake a woman’s genitals for male genitals right?

I am sure that we will also learn why Martin’s body was transferred from Pensacola where he died in a hospital, back to Panama City for the autopsy. This clearly is a violation of state law.

Getting so a person can’t do torture work anymore with being falsely accused and harassed.

More
here
here
and here

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