A blog by Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer Brian Tannebaum. Commenting on criminal law issues of local and national interest.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Martin Lee Anderson, A Boy, Killed In Boot Camp

To the "tough on crime" tunnel vision morons, Martin Lee Anderson was a boy who committed a crime and "oh well," died in boot camp.

To those with working brain cells, two hours after arriving at boot camp, Martin Lee Anderson was murdered by law enforcement officers charged with the duty of rehabilitating him for, yeah, "stealing" his grandmother's car.

"Sorry Grandma," Martin's probably crying from heaven.

Here's the video, judge for yourself. If you usually need glasses, don't worry, you won't need them here.

And here's the press release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

To Martin's mother, I am so sorry you could not rely on the State of Florida to take care of your son, and I hope you get every bit of justice available to a human being, both in civil AND criminal court. You have great lawyers in Parks and Crump.

And I want to say that I NEVER want to hear again from a prosecutor, police officer, government official, or any other "they're criminals and they get what they deserve" type person who blindly goes through life either in denial, or ignorance - that this type of brutal, disgusting, criminal behavior doesn't exist everyday in our local jails, state prisons, and juvenile boot camps.

Wake up!

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com

34 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:06 AM

    Unfortunately this boy was guilty of much more than just stealing his grandmother's car. I know that when Leon County Boot Camp was still in existence the juveniles it housed were averaging 12-13 crimes before intake. Factor in percentage of times they committed crimes before they were actually caught and you're racking up quite the record. As for the State of Florida taking care of her son, do you not attribute any of this to poor parenting skills and the inability of the mother to place her son in an environment condusive to success? I am truly sorry that this boy is dead, and I don't think he "got what he deserved", but you can't say that they murdered him. The juvenile had an illness and the coroner ruled it a natural death. If anything, there was poor screening prior to intake. The only physical contact made to the juvenile were legitimate leg sweeps and arm bars. They were also consistently bringing water to the juvenile. This boy went through nothing different than any other juvenile in the system, he just happened to have a disease. Poor upbringing and the ineffectiveness of a functional family could be considered factors in the juvenile's death more than the fault of the officers.

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  2. Anonymous2:10 AM

    i miss martin sooo much he didnt deserve that at all he was only 14 he hasnt even started livin his life yet i think everyone of them should get fired especially that stupid nurse wat tha hell was she doing she should have been the first to go my love goes to the family i know how it feels to lose someone i lost my friend to ...

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  3. Anonymous2:16 AM

    i think for the first comment is not even called for you know that boy got more than little shoves they beat that boy and yall know it.he should not be resting in peace right now he should be alive planing the rest of his life but we have stupid boot camps that wont happen it it really makes me mad and my love goes to the family

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  4. Anonymous1:23 PM

    My heart goes out to Martin's loved ones. He was murdered in cold blood and if I would have killed him I would be locked up by now. Why aren't his killers? Is it because of their uniforms? They should get more prison time, because they Are paid to serve and protect. Murder is Murder. They should be on their way to prison for about thirty years. They abused their power.

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  5. Anonymous9:18 AM

    Wow, how crazy is that first post. This was a 14 year old boy. It doesn’t matter how many "petty" crimes he committed, those guards beat him. I wonder what that person is thinking now, after a second autopsy done that says his disease was secondary cause, first being that he was inflicted harm. If this boy were to have killed someone, he was too young to have been murdered, and he got that sentence for stealing a car. I hope the guards get there badge taken away and serve time for what they have done. God bless the family and Martin.

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  6. Anonymous3:16 PM

    How is it that authorities are quick to act when the public is involved with a crime, innocent or not, until proven guilty. They need to keep in mind that they are human and during a moment of weakness can fall to the same fate as the "criminal." People are losing the compassion that American once embraced. What comes around will in no doubt go around and they will one day need that same compassion that they so easily discarded.

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  7. Anonymous4:11 PM

    SORRY, I WATCHED THE VIDEO, MAYBE ALL YOU BLEEDING HEARTS SHOULD WATCH JAMIE FOX'S 10 RULES ON HOW NOT TO GET YOUR ASS BEAT BY THE POLICE.. THE PARENTS SHOULD BE INCARCERATED FOR KILLING THEIR SON. IF HIS UPBRINGING WAS BETTER HE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN IN BOOT CAMP TO BEGIN WITH. DEATH IS ALWAYS A TRADGEDY, DON'T GET ME WRONG. BUT I'M SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING PARENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THEIR CHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE INCARCERATED, WERE GONNA SUE.. I SEE CHILDREN, 1 SINGLE MOTHER TRYING TO WORK AND RAISE HER CHILDREN. IT DOESN'T WORK WELL AND ITS HARDER THAN IT HAS TO BE. NOW HER CHILD DIED IN JAIL OR BOOT CAMP, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD IS NOT GOING TO BRING HIM BACK.. AFTER THEY SUE, I WANT TO SEE HOW THE LIVING FAMILY LIFE CHANGES.. SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANYONE BUT IF YOU WERE A COP OR A CORRECTION OFFICER AND YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH TROUBLED ADULTS OR CHILDREN, ITS A JOB.. AND WHEN SOMEBODY DOES SOMETHING OUT OF LINE IT MAKES YOUR JOB HARDER, AND AS HUMAN BEINGS WE DO NOT WANT OUR JOBS HARDER, IT TENDS TO MAKE US ANGRY. IT'S LIKE COMING HOME AFTER 12 HOURS WORK AND YOUR KIDS MADE A MESS IN THE HOUSE, ARE YOU HAPPY ABOUT IT....

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  8. Anonymous4:18 PM

    AND ANOTHER THING, I DID NOT SEE A BEATING. I SAW OFFICERS CONROLLING OR MOTIVATING.. OH HE PASSED OUT, THEY DO THAT TO EVERY KID WHO PASSES OUT, THATS WHY ITS CALLED CORRECTIONAL BOOT CAMP. IT WAS STANDARD DRILL. ITS NOT A PLAYGROUND. ITS WHERE REPEAT OFFENDERS GO AS A LAST EFFORT ON THEM.. IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN, RAISE THEM PROPERLY AND STOP PASSING IT OFF AS OHH HE HUNG AROUND WITH THE WRONG CROUD. KAKA...

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  9. To the anonymous commenter 2 above:

    I believe it was Chris Rock, not Jamie Foxx.

    And as to your comment "AS HUMAN BEINGS WE DO NOT WANT OUR JOBS HARDER, IT TENDS TO MAKE US ANGRY. IT'S LIKE COMING HOME AFTER 12 HOURS WORK AND YOUR KIDS MADE A MESS IN THE HOUSE, ARE YOU HAPPY ABOUT IT...."

    Yes, that's true, but I don't round up the neighbors to beat the crap out of my kid when they "make a mess."

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  10. Anonymous5:31 PM

    To all you racist who blamed the parents, now what!!. The coroner was wrong, he was beaten and the nurse just stood by with her hands on her hips. The water was thrown on the boy because they thought he was faking. What a travesty and shame on all of you who were so quick to judge. Did you notice there was no sense of urgency by anyone standing around when the child was so limp. Could it be because he was just another black child. Again, shame on all of you.

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  11. Anonymous7:04 PM

    The United States is the "Great Satan" and will be thrown in the fire pit. The atrocities commited by government worker and allowed by the governed show the deserve all that is coming to them!

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  12. Anonymous9:17 PM

    THE NURSE SHOULD BE AS GUILTY AS EVERYONE ELSE.. SHE WALKED AWAY AS THE ABUSE WAS HAPPENING.... SHE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HERSELF.

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  13. Anonymous11:44 PM

    First off, the U.S. is not the "Great Satan." We suck, but we're not Satan. Back to young Martin... It is absolutely disgusting, what happened to the child. It always amazes me how cowardly officers are so afraid of black people that they need 5 of their officer buddies to help subdue, and often kill black men/boys. I do agree with the republican cop guy in that black people must focus more on the family and on child-rearing in impoverished and crime ridden places. However, I fully understand the debilitating forces that affect the black community, and I believe that the state should help in the process of producing upstanding citizens, not killing them. Cops often say that they get into the force to protect and serve, but many join the force because it serves as an outlet to express their racist ideas and it offers a sense of authority which cops often abuse. The case of Martin Lee Anderson is simple: The boot camp officers (over)-abused and killed a child. Martin was a repeat petty offender, so what? He was 14!!! My heart and my tears go out to his family, and I sincerely hope that these "blue suit" criminals pay.

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  14. Anonymous1:27 AM

    I really don't know how some of the posters can judge the parents, they don't know the whole situation. There are some bad parents out there, but there are also good parents who try to raise their children properly and do a pretty darn good job. Unfortunatly in todays society some teenagers do make mistakes, and we as parents try to help them in anyway possiable including putting them in boot camps to help us to help them. That doesn't make us bad parents. This Martin should not have been treated like this in any way shape or form. All he was trying to do is get the help in making him a better person and learn how to take on the world. There's no shame in that. I have to say that the people who made those post to that affect are ignorant of the information. Really, get all the facts before you start dissing the people trying to help their children. This kid didn't deserve this and it breaks my heart to see such ignorance in our state.

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  15. Anonymous5:07 AM

    you guys can't look at this and judge the parents if you saw his mother you would see she was really tore up about this.. and my heart goes out for his family and friends... i'm a young kid (22) and my mom raised me by her self now i was never in really bad trouble but i did some things to get in trouble... i took my moms car out for joy rides you know i was busted for underage drinking and crap like that never got me in major trouble... so what i'm saying is just b/c the parents are bad parents or if they are good parents they still love their kids and they dont want them to get in trouble my mom was a single mother doing her best and holding down two jobs... and it doesn't matter if they beat him to death or if he died b/c of health problems the fact is he died and those pigs should of relized that this kid needed help instead of waiting until he didn't have a heart beat and then run around like idiots trying to call the metics... I just can't believe that in the united states this can happen.. i mean on cnn they showed that the tatics that the boot camp was using was not allowed on minors and it's been that way in flordia for almost 2 years now.... my mom and my step-dad and me watch the video that was about half an hour of them throwing him around hitting him and all he was doing was his body going limp.. people that are serveing time for murder gets treated better then that...

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  16. Anonymous11:31 AM

    all this crap about being afraid of black people. why is it always an issue of race? It has absolutely nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with....If you do not want the justice department to raise your kids..then raise them yourself.. The justice deparment was rasing this boy for his family.. would you trust them to raise yours
    ?

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  17. Anonymous11:35 AM

    ohh and to the commentor " all you racists " you don't know what color we are, maybe we are self hating blacks.. or self hating whites, or self hating arabs.. what difference does it make? obviously you are a person of color, are you a racist?

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  18. Anonymous11:40 AM

    another thing.. what the hell does "dissin" mean? first of all we can't get all the facts stright. he is a juvenile. his records are sealed. we'll never know his record. so all we can di is assume that he must have been in quite a bit of trouble to have been sent to boot camp...

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  19. Anonymous11:43 AM

    and to the person who said of the United States " we suck" we don't suck.. This is the greatest country in the entire world.. If you think it sucks.. then you haven't suffered yet...one day you may pray for this country and wish that you could have your suck back.

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  20. Anonymous7:23 PM

    I can't believe we have posters here trying to defend the guards. They pre-judged this kid the minute he set foot on the camp. When he was complaining about difficulty breathing they decided to keep him on the track. The guards and the nurse involved are idiots who should be held criminially liable for what they did.

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  21. Anonymous12:09 AM

    First of all, my heart goes out to the family of Martin. I wish I can get a hold of one of those cowards in a ring a beat them legally. I think most correctional officers hide behind that piece of medal on their shit. This boy was 14 years old. He was not even old enough to hard those adult officer. I think they showed up to work to beat a kid up. Martin was just the unlikely kid. They shoukd go down for premeditated murder. It does not take 4 grown men to subdue a kid. For God sake this boy was 14 years old. You can look at a 14 year old kid a certain way to correct a problem. Please let me get one of these cowards in the ring. I do it on at a time. To all those depending these guards you are cowards too and if you think that is the way to handle little kids then you can get some too. And yes Kareem is my real name so look me up cowards!!!!!!

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  22. Anonymous4:07 PM

    Ok I'm going to say this, sure it's true. Parents must and should raise their children properly so that they don't end up in jail. Let's think for a moment shall we. What does that actually mean (the word properly) to the average person? Everyone has a different view on what that means. Everyone has different standards of how they raise their children, especially if they (the parents) were raised certain ways. I'm sorry but I am not about to bash Martin's mother. It's hard out here regardless of your parenting methods. Children all have their own personalities aside from their parents. What works for one child may not work for another. At the end of the day, bottom line, those idiotic guards had no right to put their hands on that CHILD!!! We must remember, those were grown men beating a CHILD! It was insane, all because he stopped running? God forgive me for saying this but, every last one of you that doesn't have chills and tears watching that footage must be some real cold hearted bastards. I was in shock, I cried and now I'm mad as hell. Excuse me people but we are supposed to care about each other and if not each other at least care about what happens to CHILDREN! Even if he wasn't my son, if I was there I would not have allowed that to happen to that boy. It was wrong, you can't justify what they did by saying he was a troubled kid. As adults, we must make sure we protect all children from harm not promote it. Think back when you were a child, aside from having a loving parent or not, would you want to happen to you what happened to Martin?

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  23. Anonymous4:38 PM

    I stand somewhat corrected, I agree with you wholeheartedly. We do care about each other. Thats why Martins death should not go with out a lesson. His death should be a lesson to parents and children alike. As tragic as it is, if a lesson is not learned from this untimely death. Then Martins death was worthless. His life obviously was not worthless, so why should his death be? This is not a issue of color, (why so many black people try to think what other races are thinking is beyond me) it is not a issue of race, it is not a issue of racism. This issue is simple. Children.. Listen up. The justice system is not reform school. It is not a fun place. It is not a place you want to end up. Parents listen up.. Monitor your children... watch who they are with.. make sure of their friends and who they hang with.

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  24. Anonymous12:06 AM

    Its ok for so many officers to restrain and beat a 14 yr old boy makes me So sick. I watched that video and started crying not even knowing him. No matter what he did, it DOES NOT, I REPEAT DOES NOT deserve to be beaten to DEATH. The very people who are suppose to protect him killed him. I wish there was something I can do. Theres a congresswomen about to get introuble for hitting an officer, but when 6 officers beat a 14 year old boy its ok. He died for nothing...I hope this goes to court and justice is served for that boy who can be here to do it for himself. REST IN PEACE MARTIN....your not alone here...

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  25. Anonymous9:13 PM

    I just witnessed the video; my God; what did these people do? 6 foot men and a nurse??? Do they not have brains; he seemed to be no more than 120 pounds; 1 boy to 6 men and a nurse looking on?
    This nurse and the men needs to be fired; thank God again the the camp is closed; they are murderers; they do not know how to give discipline; they only how to torture and kill. The did not relent; they kept at it. May all of the boot camps be shut down; is this not the first boot camp to kill???

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  26. Anonymous3:55 AM

    this hole thing is a bunch of bullcrap if you ask me Martin did not desirve the he was a son,and a friend i knew him personally and this was a young boy his was only 14 his life got took before he even got out of middle school he was only in bootcamp not in prison they had no right to murder someone eles child. thanks to the horrible people that let such a discusting thing happen to such a good soul he will never get to do what every child in america is so prevliged to do he will never get to step foot in a highschool class he will never get married or have kids may martin lee anderson r.i.p and may the very souls that did this to such a wonderful person rot in the deots of hell

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  27. Anonymous4:50 AM

    As I ponder the tragic and untimely death of Martin Lee Anderson there's a resounding cry of "justice" ringing in my soul. I find it difficult to believe that anyone who viewed the tapes from the boot camp could possibly argue that his death and the terrible brutality were unrelated. Some feel that if his mom would have reared him differently he'd never ended up in jail. To those who think like that I say this; no one deserves to die an unjust death. The system of juvenile incarceration was not designed to kill. It was supposedly designed to house people who had difficulties of some sort in society. To Martin's mom, stay strong. To the concerned public, respond with love, not with your emotions i.e. bitterness, anger and unforgiveness. Dr. King laid the pattern for fighting injustice. We must not forsake the ancient landmarks. Dr. King disarmed the powers of darkness in his day through prayer and the power of love. King also fought with the words of the constitution: "we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union establish justice..." The first ammendment states "that we have the right to peacably assemble." Pick up your picket signs and demand justice. Walk in love, stand shoulder to shoulder and believe in miracles. Love will heal our inner cities and change the way we see the system and the way the system see's us (minorities). The whole world is watching us, including our youth. It's time to do things the right way. The love way. The only pattern they'll have is the one that we leave.

    email: troyboyintl@yahoo.com

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  28. Anonymous1:01 PM

    i am so sorry for wut happen to this boy i knew he was in a lot of pain and it would have been a blessing to many pepole if he could have survive and told people how he felt and to his parents i know ther is not enough money in the world to make you feel better but i want to get this out the guards and the nures ARE GUILTY and they don't need to die they need sum1 to do them like they did martin i didn't know him but it felt like he was a part of me wen this came up and i'm only 13 and when i saw that on the news all i did was prayed that justice will be done and the guards will get wuts cumin to them and the nurse think she's not guilty it's just like she was hitting him 2 and for all the pepole who say the guards aren't gulity go to hell BITCHES an ROTT because we all know sickle cell DID NOT KILL MARTIN LEE ANDERSON and my prayers goes out to the family.

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  29. Anonymous10:57 AM

    This is a tradegy, when I read the very first post, it mad me angry. I'm a single Mom, I have a son and a daughter. My son is in the U.S. Marine Reserves and attending college. He wrote letters from boot camp, 13 weeks of boot camp, but he came home alive. The boy wasn't even in a day and is died, that should register wrong in anybodies mind. My son wrote about being sick and being taken care of, he wrote about black flag days, which were days were they wouldn't let them do physical activity because it was too hot why because they cared. I think that the problem here is they forgot that boot camp was also about caring for a person too. If they are going to call it boot camp then they need to follow the rules and guidelines of real boot camps. By the video you could tell that the boy was limp long before the nurse left the scene. This might not be a race issue, but I think that it is strange that people are looking to arrested anyone in connection with the 18 year girl missing in Aruba, and it is all over the news. But if it wasn't for a black owned radio station broadcasting here in Dayton, Ohio I would not have heard anything about the death of this young boy and the law is trying its best to sweep this under the rug instead of trying to arrest someone.

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  30. Anonymous9:28 PM

    It's funny that the American public is always so "informed" but yet so ignorant. For those who claim that if his parents raised him properly then he would not have ended up where he was,come on your begging the question! You can do absolutely everything for your child, enroll them in the best schools, provide an environment conducive to learning, and lay all the framework for a child to grow up and be "a decent and civilized human being" but at the end of the day that can not prevent them from being a drug user or a criminal. (Ask Katherine Rundle)
    So STOP diverting blame and changing the subject. His family's socioeconomic status is not on trial! Before reading about the facts of the case, I was a little nonchalant myself. My initial response was, What did he do to get sent to bootcamp in the first place? Which on my part was real ignorant. Ted Bundy murdered 20+ people and no one laid one finger on him. I'm sure his corpse was treated with more respect and dignity than Martin was afforded alive. It would be nice if people would read before they used their own "web of knowledge " to write post and try to generalize nonsense.
    So the new act passed to eliminate boot camps and provide 10.6 million dollars to help reform these new sheriff's camp and respect academies is also a load of CRAP!
    Maybe you've heard of John Locke, "The power to govern is derived from those being governed"
    As citizens we must demand more, why waste 10.6 million dollars into "corrections", when if used properly that 10.6 million could improve schools and neighborhoods and PREVENT youth from unnecessarily entering the criminal justice system. WE MUST STOP TRYING TO COVER GAPING WOUNDS WITH BAND AIDS!
    By the way I'm running for Governor of Florida in ahh, 20 yrs. or so, HOLLA!
    FLoriDa State UniverSity CLass of 2006 Rocks!
    RIP Martin Lee Anderson
    ( They do not know what they have done, But they will!)

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  31. Anonymous9:20 PM

    My heart goes out to the Anderson family, I'll keep you in my prayers. I am awfully sorry for the lost of your son,grandson,love one, and friend. I have a younger brother who is also 14 at a juvenile detention center and there is not a day that goes by I don't worry or think of him. I miss him so. And now I hear this story and I worry more. But I know I have To keep my FAITH and TRUST IN THE LORD and HE'LL MAKE A WAY !! So please pray for him and I will alway's pray for you in your family and always remember Martin is resting now he is in a better place no more pain no more sorrow he is with our heavenly father and God will take SUPER care of him AMEN! B.H.-16 years 0ld

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  32. Anonymous11:03 PM

    I THINK EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM SHOULD BE HUNG FROM A TREE BUT THAY HAVE SOMETHING WORST THAN THAT THE RATH OF GOD MAY THAY ALL GO SRAIGHT TO HELL.

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  33. Anonymous8:37 PM

    Brian,

    I love your blog. While I don't agree with all of the comments, I'll defend everyones right to speak their mind. By the way, call me offline and I'll give you the real story of how the State lost this trial.

    Who am I? I am "Semi-anonymous defense lawyer of one of the boot camp employees in Panama City who is also a FACDL member". Initials are JD.

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  34. Anonymous11:32 AM

    This whole situation was clearly a racial issue this is a young black kid. No one can defend that fact. Maybe if BLACKS were never slaves and beaten before it wouldn't and shouldn't be seen as a racial issue.But since the black race has been victims of things of this nature it is definetly race related. Prayers to the parents of Martin Lee Anderson.

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