May 5, 2006 5:47 pm US/Eastern
Autopsy Claims Martin Lee Anderson Suffocated
Surveillance Tape Captured Alleged Beating At The Hands Of Guards
Anderson Died In January At The Bay County Boot Camp
TAMPA (CBS4/AP) ―
A medical examiner says a 14-year-old boy died because he was suffocated by guards who roughed him up at a juvenile boot camp in Bay County, not because of complications caused by sickle cell trait, as claimed in the original autopsy.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for a top official at the Panama City boot camp says the investigation is now going to be a "witch hunt".
The lawyer says Sheriff's Lieutenant Charles Helms "knows what's coming next" after an autopsy determined guards caused the 14-year-old's death. Helms was second in command and was present when the teen was beaten.
The findings of the second autopsy by Doctor Vernard Adams on Martin Anderson conflict with the results of the initial one by medical examiner Doctor Charles Siebert. He ruled the boy died from complications of sickle cell trait, a usually benign blood disorder many blacks have.
The findings confirm the beliefs of Anderson's family and others who think Anderson died because the guards at the Bay County Boot Camp facility beat him, as indicated on a camp surveillance tape.
Adams wrote that Anderson's death was caused by "suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp." He said the suffocation was caused by hands blocking the boy's mouth, but in a finding which some may seem surprising, Adams says the "forced inhalation of ammonia fumes" that caused his vocal cords to spasm, blocking his upper airway, also contributed to his death. The ammonia was apparently used on Anderson in an attempt to revive him..
The death sparked protests at the state Capitol, forced lawmakers to scrap the military-style camps and led to the resignation of the state's top law enforcement officer.
Governor Jeb Bush says he's "disturbed" by the autopsy findings. And he calls the guards' actions "deplorable."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
