Closing arguments in boot camp death trial

updated 4:12 a.m. ET Oct. 12, 2007

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A 14-year-old boy died because seven juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse lacked good judgment and decided to use force against him rather than calling for medical help, a prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments Thursday.

Attorneys for the eight defendants said Martin Lee Anderson’s death was the unavoidable consequence of his genetic blood disorder, and alleged that the manslaughter charges were part of a “twisted agenda” by former Gov. Jeb Bush and others who were under fire from civil rights groups.

Prosecutor Mike Sinacore said the defendants ignored common sense in the 30-minute videotaped altercation with Anderson in January 2006. The guards repeatedly hit, kneed and dragged the limp boy around after he collapsed while running laps. The nurse stood by watching.

“This case is about the failure of caregivers to provide Martin Lee Anderson with the care that any prudent person would deem necessary and essential to the well being of a child,” Sinacore said.

A defense attorney said convicting the guards would be like spitting on troops fighting an unpopular war.

“They have not brought in one witness to say those tactics are illegal. That those wrist bends, those knee strikes are improper,” said Robert Sombathy, who represents guard Patrick Garrett.

If jurors found those tactics are wrong, every boot camp in the state would be guilty of child neglect, he said. Florida ended its military boot camp system last year because of the Anderson case.

Defendants face 30 years in prison
The eight former employees of the now-closed military-style camp run by the county sheriff face as many as 30 years in prison if convicted of aggravated manslaughter of child. Jurors could decide to acquit them of manslaughter, but convict them of lesser charges including child neglect or culpable negligence.

Prosecutors say the guards suffocated Anderson by repeatedly covering his mouth and making him inhale ammonia. They also say the defendants, as Anderson’s legal guardians, failed to provide reasonable care and neglected him.

“They went way too far, further than they had ever gone before. They suffocated Martin Anderson,” prosecutor Scott Harmon said.

James White, attorney for guard Raymond Hauck, called state officials “Monday morning quarterbacks” who decided to appoint the special prosecutor and order a second autopsy because they didn’t like the results of an autopsy by Dr. Charles Siebert, the medical examiner for Bay County.

“This got out of kilter early with demonstrators, relentless news coverage and private attorneys,” White said. “The state has tried everything in the world through its twisted agenda to rewrite history.”

Disagreement on cause of death
Siebert ruled that Anderson died of natural causes from undiagnosed sickle cell trait, a usually harmless blood disorder found in one in eight black people. The trait can hinder cells carrying oxygen during physical stress.

Another autopsy done by the medical examiner for Hillsborough County found the guards suffocated Anderson through their repeated use of ammonia capsules and by covering his mouth.

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