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Boot Camp Trial Begins

October 3rd, 2007 by flanews

The boot camp trial is underway.  7 drill instructors and a nurse at the now-closed Bay County Boot Camp are charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson last January.  As Chris Casquejo tells us, the trial is re-opening racial divisions.

Hear it here: Boot Camp Trial Begins 

The eight defendants are charged with aggravated manslaughter of a person under 18.  Special prosecutors will argue that Anderson died of suffocation.

“Martin Anderson died from lack of oxygen, oxygen deprivation,” said Pam Bondi, one of the attorneys for the prosecution.  “This was no accident.  This was a child who was killed.”

A position consistent with the Hillsborough County medical examiner’s autopsy.  The first autopsy from the Bay County medical examiner found that Anderson died from complications from sickle cell trait, a genetic blood disorder that the defense argues boot camp workers did not know about.  One by one, each of the eight defense attorneys made that point.

“What you didn’t see on that video that the state showed is that he’s talking, ” said Ashley Benedict, the attorney for the boot camp nurse.  “She takes out her stethoscope. He’s able to communicate.”

Protestors from the Tallahassee Youth Chapter of the NAACP gathered outside the courthouse.  The attorney for Anderson’s family once again called into question the makeup of the jury.  No blacks among the 6 jurors and 4 alternates.

“They have themselves convinced that every black person with sickle cell is going to pass out and die,” said Ben Crump.  “I wish they had a black juror.”

The trial is expected to last eight days.

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