Based on the judgment of the medical examiner quoted in this article, it appears that 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, beaten to death by sadistic guards in a public "boot camp" facility, actually died of loss of oxygen induced by the attacks. He was like brain-dead by the time the authorities managed to get him to the hospital: Pathologist: Teen who died at boot camp likely suffocated by Bill Kaczor St. Petersburg Times/AP 03/17/06. Kaczor reports:
[Dr. Michael] Baden gave the [Florida] House Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee more details about his opinions of the videotaped altercation, which has prompted calls to close juvenile boot camps. Anderson had collapsed while doing exercises at the camp and was unresponsive as guards hit him.
"There was somebody pressing on his back while he was on the ground. That prevents the diaphragm from moving and that can cause asphyxia, the lack of breathing," Baden told the panel from New York by telephone.
"He can't breathe, he can't get oxygen. When he leaves on that stretcher, he's already mostly brain dead," he said.
Charles Siebert, the bigoted incompentent who earlier found that the beating victim died of sickle-cell trait, is still defending his conclusion.
But he also gives us a glimpse of his mentality:
In a statement issued Thursday through a public relations firm that Siebert has paid for on his own, he said it's not unheard of for medical experts to come to different conclusions after reviewing the same case.
He also complained he has been subject to "baseless and mean spirited accusations from special interest groups" calling for everything from revoking his license to criminal charges.
By "special interest groups" one can only assume he means "evil Negroes".
I hope the local district attorney does a serious investigation of whether Siebert was implicated in some way in the attempted cover-up of the murder.
He didn't have any rupture of internal organs," Baden said, meaning the kicks and punches themselves did not cause death. [However, the hospital told the boy's family that his organs could not be donated because they were too badly damaged. - Bruce]
"He did have a number of situations in which his breathing was impaired, episodes where there was somebody pressing on his back while he was on the ground. That prevents the diaphragm from moving and can cause asphyxia, the lack of breathing."
Baden, who spoke from New York, also said there were instances where guards covered the 14-year-old's mouth in order to force an ammonia capsule up his nostril, a tactic guards used to make him more compliant.
"With ammonia in his nose and hands over his mouth . . . he can't breathe, he can't get oxygen," Baden said. "When he leaves on that stretcher, he's already mostly brain dead."
Shoving an ammonia capsule up his nose "to make him more compliant". Charming. These guys can probably get work at Guantánamo.
To illustrate how little the responsible authorities care about this murder, except as a potentially embarassing PR problem, the local Shurff has used the incident to ... lobby for a higher budget:
But Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder delivered a stern reminder that it will be wasted effort if the state doesn't fully fund the programs.
"The death of Martin Lee Anderson has hit the juvenile justice system in the state of Florida like a thunderclap. It's drawn our attention," he said. But "there's been a lot of lip service and support and encouragement but it has not been reflected in the state's budget document."
At least the camp where the murder occurred has been closed.
This is also an interesting part of the story:
Also Friday, State Democratic chairwoman Karen Thurman called for Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober to be taken off the investigation, citing his involvement in the case of Jennifer Porter, the white teacher involved in a hit-and-run accident that left two black children dead in Tampa.
"This goes beyond bad politics. It's bad policy to appoint an investigator involved in one controversial, racially charged case to investigate another so soon afterwards," Thurman said in a statement.
