Though it has been nearly a year since the death of Martin Lee Anderson at the hands of Florida boot camp guards, no one has been charged in his death…until now. Yesterday, seven former boot camp guards and one nurse were charged with aggravated manslaughter for this killing.
The nurse was charged because she stood by and watch the whole incident, without interceding or immediately providing him with medical attention.
If convicted, each faces up to 30 years in prison.
The original autopsy report stated he died of the sickle cell “trait” (not the disease), which would have made him the first person in medical history to do so.
A second autopsy found that he died of suffocation at the hands of the guards:
He (the coroner) said the guards’ hands blocked the boy’s mouth, and the “forced inhalation of ammonia fumes” (from ammonia pills the guards used to put him under control) caused his vocal cords to spasm, blocking his upper airway.
The Andserson family has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Department of Juvenile Justice, which oversaw the boot camp system, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, which ran the camp.
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