Gina Jones buried her young son twice in the last year. News that eight former Florida juvenile boot camp employees were charged in his death on Tuesday finally gave her something to celebrate. “Today is a good day for me. I’m finally getting justice for my baby,” Jones told the Associated Press. Throughout the last 11 months, Jones has had to repeatedly watch a surveillance video on television that shows seven guards beating and kicking her son, 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, during a 30-minute altercation at the Bay County sheriff’s camp in Panama City.
The boy died at a Pensacola Hospital the next day. His body was exhumed in March for a second autopsy and the family had a second burial after investigators had questions about the initial autopsy. The seven guards and the nurse face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on charges of aggravated battery of a child. The death prompted the state to dismantle its military-style detention system for young offenders, sparked protests at the state Capitol and led to the resignation of Florida’s top law enforcement officer.
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SOU_BOOT_CAMP_DEATH_OPTIONAL_FLOL-?SITE=FLPEJ&