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Pathologist: Beating caused boot camp death
Expert hired by teen's family says blood disorder was not the cause
Mari Darr~welch / AP
The body of Martin Lee Anderson, 14, who died after a videotaped beating by guards at a juvenile boot camp, was exhumed Friday for a second autopsy.
TAMPA, Fla. - Prosecutors confirmed Tuesday that a 14-year-old boy who was beaten by guards in a juvenile boot camp did not die of a blood disorder as a medical examiner initially ruled.
Pam Bondi, a spokeswoman for Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, who is investigating the death of Martin Lee Anderson, declined to comment further on the case except to say it will be “months” before the probe is complete.
She confirmed statements from Dr. Michael Baden, a noted pathologist who observed the second autopsy that was conducted on the teenager’s body.
Baden said Tuesday that results from a second autopsy seem to indicate a 14-year-old boy died from a beating by guards at a juvenile boot camp, not from a blood disorder as a medical examiner initially ruled.
“My opinion is that he died because of what you see in the videotape,” said Dr. Michael Baden, referring to a surveillance tape showing guards kicking and punching Martin Lee Anderson’s limp body the day before he died.
After seeing the videotape, the boy’s parents agreed to have his body exhumed and asked Baden to observe a second autopsy.
Story continues below ↓
“I’m just glad the truth is out,” Anderson’s mother, Gina Jones, said Tuesday. “But I already knew what the truth was. Now that the truth is out, and I want justice. I want the guards and the nurse to be arrested.”
Several weeks for analysis
Baden, who was hired by the boy’s family, said it would be several weeks before the medical examiner in charge of the second autopsy, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Dr. Vernard Adams, determines the exact cause of death because tissue samples must be analyzed and other evidence considered.
But Baden said it was clear that Anderson did not die from sickle cell trait.
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Dr. Charles Siebert, who made that initial ruling after Anderson’s death Jan. 6, was present at the second autopsy and may end up changing his ruling, said Baden, who reviewed medical evidence in the slaying of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I think he made a mistake,” Baden said.
Siebert did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober is investigating the case and has said he will not discuss the autopsy until the investigation is complete.
Camp closed
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Tallahassee and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also have opened an investigation into Anderson’s death. No guards have been arrested or fired, but the camp, operated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, has been closed.
Civil rights leaders who rallied to support Anderson’s parents said they hoped the case would lead to reforms.
“He was a microcosm of many young Andersons sitting in boot camps and detention centers across the state of Florida,” said Sevell C. Brown, state president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Anderson entered the camp for a probation violation for trespassing at a school after he and his cousins were charged with stealing their grandmother’s car from a church parking lot. He was in his first day at the boot camp when he collapsed during exercises and then was seen on the tape being struck and kicked by several guards.
this would make me think twice about sending my brat to boot camp
Pathologist: Beating caused boot camp death
Expert hired by teen's family says blood disorder was not the cause
Mari Darr~welch / APThe body of Martin Lee Anderson, 14, who died after a videotaped beating by guards at a juvenile boot camp, was exhumed Friday for a second autopsy.
TAMPA, Fla. - Prosecutors confirmed Tuesday that a 14-year-old boy who was beaten by guards in a juvenile boot camp did not die of a blood disorder as a medical examiner initially ruled.
Pam Bondi, a spokeswoman for Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, who is investigating the death of Martin Lee Anderson, declined to comment further on the case except to say it will be “months” before the probe is complete.
She confirmed statements from Dr. Michael Baden, a noted pathologist who observed the second autopsy that was conducted on the teenager’s body.
Baden said Tuesday that results from a second autopsy seem to indicate a 14-year-old boy died from a beating by guards at a juvenile boot camp, not from a blood disorder as a medical examiner initially ruled.
“My opinion is that he died because of what you see in the videotape,” said Dr. Michael Baden, referring to a surveillance tape showing guards kicking and punching Martin Lee Anderson’s limp body the day before he died.
After seeing the videotape, the boy’s parents agreed to have his body exhumed and asked Baden to observe a second autopsy.
Story continues below ↓
“I’m just glad the truth is out,” Anderson’s mother, Gina Jones, said Tuesday. “But I already knew what the truth was. Now that the truth is out, and I want justice. I want the guards and the nurse to be arrested.”
Several weeks for analysis
Baden, who was hired by the boy’s family, said it would be several weeks before the medical examiner in charge of the second autopsy, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Dr. Vernard Adams, determines the exact cause of death because tissue samples must be analyzed and other evidence considered.
But Baden said it was clear that Anderson did not die from sickle cell trait.
Live vote
Do you think bootcamp is a good disciplinary tool?
Dr. Charles Siebert, who made that initial ruling after Anderson’s death Jan. 6, was present at the second autopsy and may end up changing his ruling, said Baden, who reviewed medical evidence in the slaying of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I think he made a mistake,” Baden said.
Siebert did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.
Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober is investigating the case and has said he will not discuss the autopsy until the investigation is complete.
Camp closed
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Tallahassee and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also have opened an investigation into Anderson’s death. No guards have been arrested or fired, but the camp, operated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, has been closed.
Civil rights leaders who rallied to support Anderson’s parents said they hoped the case would lead to reforms.
“He was a microcosm of many young Andersons sitting in boot camps and detention centers across the state of Florida,” said Sevell C. Brown, state president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Anderson entered the camp for a probation violation for trespassing at a school after he and his cousins were charged with stealing their grandmother’s car from a church parking lot. He was in his first day at the boot camp when he collapsed during exercises and then was seen on the tape being struck and kicked by several guards.
this would make me think twice about sending my brat to boot camp
