The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a boy whose death triggered public protests and reforms to the state’s juvenile detention camps.
A criminal case is still pending in the January 2006 death of 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson, who died after he was beaten by guards at a camp run by Bay County A state autopsy found that the boy died of natural causes, prompting charges of a cover-up. A subsequent autopsy found that the boy had been suffocated.
Seven guards have been charged with manslaughter in the altercation, which was recorded on videotape. Anderson’s family is seeking another $5 million settlement from Bay County. For more on the case and the national movement against boot camps, see "Boot Camps Get Dismissed," April 2006.
