Fla. Boot-Camp Death Leads to Manslaughter Charges November 29, 2006
News Summary
Florida prosecutors filed manslaughter charges against seven former guards and a nurse in connection with the 2005 death of a teen sent to a military-style boot camp for young offenders, the Associated Press reported Nov. 28.
Martin Lee Anderson, 14, collapsed and died after being roughed up by a group of guards in the exercise yard of the Panama City boot camp, run by the Bay County sheriff's department. The camp and others like it were shut down across Florida after the incident, which was caught on video.
Those charged could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. An initial autopsy by a coroner with close ties to police concluded that Anderson died of complications related to sickle-cell anemia. But a second autopsy conducted as part of an investigation found that Anderson died of suffocation when guards blocked his mouth and forced him to inhale ammonia.
Anderson's family has sued for $40 million in damages related to the youth's death.
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