Martin Anderson death controversy

Martin Lee Anderson (c. January 15, 1991 – January 6, 2006) was a 14-year-old from Florida who died while incarcerated at a boot camp-style youth detention center, the Bay County Boot Camp, located in Panama City, Florida, and operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. Anderson collapsed while performing required physical training at the camp. While running track, he stopped and complained of fatigue. The guards coerced him to continue his run, but he collapsed and died. A 30-minute portion of the surveillance video depicting the coercion was made public.

The teenager's death resulted in accusations of racially motivated killing, in part in response to an official videotape that showed the guards using physical coercion. The Florida legislature voted to close the state's five juvenile boot camps.

The death became a cause célèbre and received national attention. The local medical examiner, Dr. Charles Siebert, performed an autopsy and ruled that the teen died of "complications from sickle cell trait". He said, "It was a natural death." This caused further public outcry. The Governor ordered a second autopsy; the second pathologist, Dr. Vern Adams, ruled Martin Anderson's death was "caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp. The suffocation was caused by manual occlusion of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasm of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airway."

Public indignation resulted in the closing of the state's five juvenile boot camps, the firing of Siebert, and charges of manslaughter against the guards. Governor Charlie Crist directed the state of Florida to settle a family lawsuit for $5 million. Eventually, the guards were acquitted at trial. The controversy regarding Siebert's firing resulted in accusations by the National Association of Medical Examiners, independent groups of Medical Examiners throughout the nation, the State Attorney, and the Bay County Commissioners complaining that the Florida Medical Examiner system had been compromised by racial politics.

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Wikipedia