Welcome to

The U.S. Attorney General’s office is still deciding whether to bring federal civil rights charges in the Martin Lee Anderson case.  On Friday, college students shut down a main intersection of Tallahassee near the Capitol after an all-white jury acquitted 7 former guards and a nurse in Anderson’s death at the now-closed Bay County Boot Camp in January 2006.  The 14-year-old’s final moments were captured on videotape as guards kneed him and forced him to inhale ammonia capsules.

“I think that part of the federal inquiry that you’re going to see, at least on the Congressional side, is to dispel the myth that a black person could die from sickle cell trait, said Daryl Parks, one the Anderson family’s attorneys.  “And so, that’s totally false.  Unfortunately, that issue was not totally fleshed out during the course of the criminal trial.”

“It was tragic and sad and horrific in so many ways,” said Gov. Charlie Crist.  “I think the Legislature acted very responsibly to help this family out.  They deserve the appropriate compensation that the Legislature bestowed upon them.”

Earlier this year, the state of Florida paid Anderson’s family $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.