black…MYstory

It’s been 278 days, Governor Jeb Bush.

It’s been 278 days, state attorney general Charles Crist.

It’s been 278 days since Martin Lee Anderson, a boy sent to a boot camp for joyriding in his grandmother’s car, was killed after being in the custody of camp guards for less than two hours.

Martin was a boy who made good grades but made one bad decision: he and his friend took a joyride in Martin’s grandmother’s car. Martin was the passenger. At the urging of authorities, his grandmother pressed charges against him to scare him straight. He was sentenced to a boot camp for juvenile offenders. Martin collapsed while exercising. For his “noncompliance”, Martin was kicked and kneed by up to 9 guards for a half-hour while a nearby nurse watched on. When they found out what they had done, the guards tried to revive the unconcious teen by stuffing ammonia tablets in his nostrils and covering his mouth and nose. This suffocated him. He was taken to a hospital and died several hours later.

In what I can only see as a cover-up, the original autopsy concluded he died of “natural causes from complications of sickle cell trait”. Follow me, not the disease but the “trait”, which would make him the first person in medical history to do so.

A second autopsy was performed at the family’s request and it concluded that Martin died of as a result of suffocation at the hands of the guards during the scuffle.

So, what is the 278 days about?

Martin died 278 days ago. To this date, no one has been brought to justice for his killing. In fact, the official investigation has yet to even bring forth any findings.

Why so long? I would have to conclude that since state attorney general Charles Crist is running as the Republican party’s candidate for governer, a black kid dying on his watch in one of his state’s juvenile camps doesn’t make good press. However, having to admit the failure of oversight of these camps, which would lead back to him, would be even worse. So, rather than doing the right thing, Crist is doing the political thing, even if it is a matter of life and death.

278 days and counting.

How much longer does justice need to wait?

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