Parents claim coverup in bootcamp death (Accuse Gov Jeb Bush & Tampa State Att'y)
By MARY ELLEN KLAS
November 20, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - After nine months of investigation and still no arrests, the parents of Martin Lee Anderson accused Gov. Jeb Bush and the Tampa state attorney's office Monday of covering-up the death of their son at a Panama City boot camp.
Gina Jones and Robert Anderson stood outside the governor's office to remind him of the promise he made to them months ago when he told them he would demand that the case was resolved before he left office in January.
''He could have done more than what he's doing -- a lot more,'' said Jones, whose 14-year-old son died Jan. 6 after being punched, kneed and suffocated with ammonia capsules by guards. The incident was captured on video tape.
Bush asked Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober to handle the case and backed legislation that abolished the military-like juvenile justice facilities in Florida. The boot camp has closed but the case is still pending and there have been no arrests.
The NAACP of Florida announced that if the case is not resolved by the time Gov.-elect Charlie Crist is sworn into office on Jan. 2, the organization will urge students from around the state to march on the capital in silent protest.
Dr. Charles Evans, president of the NAACP's Tallahassee branch, ticked off a chronology of events in the case that point to what he called ''the failure of Gov. Bush'' to faithfully execute his official duties and an ``evident cover-up by the executive branch of this state.''
Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj called allegations of a cover-up ''ridiculous.
Sen. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat who has championed the family's case for months, said she had held her fire against Bush and Ober to allow the prosecutor time to thoroughly investigate the killing.
Now, she believes the delay is no longer intended to give prosecutors time but politicians cover.
''Someone was told to sit on this investigation and I'm not sure who gave those orders,'' Wilson said. ``There has been so much uncovered that maybe they think it's best to sit on it.
LinkHere
November 20, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - After nine months of investigation and still no arrests, the parents of Martin Lee Anderson accused Gov. Jeb Bush and the Tampa state attorney's office Monday of covering-up the death of their son at a Panama City boot camp.
Gina Jones and Robert Anderson stood outside the governor's office to remind him of the promise he made to them months ago when he told them he would demand that the case was resolved before he left office in January.
''He could have done more than what he's doing -- a lot more,'' said Jones, whose 14-year-old son died Jan. 6 after being punched, kneed and suffocated with ammonia capsules by guards. The incident was captured on video tape.
Bush asked Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober to handle the case and backed legislation that abolished the military-like juvenile justice facilities in Florida. The boot camp has closed but the case is still pending and there have been no arrests.
The NAACP of Florida announced that if the case is not resolved by the time Gov.-elect Charlie Crist is sworn into office on Jan. 2, the organization will urge students from around the state to march on the capital in silent protest.
Dr. Charles Evans, president of the NAACP's Tallahassee branch, ticked off a chronology of events in the case that point to what he called ''the failure of Gov. Bush'' to faithfully execute his official duties and an ``evident cover-up by the executive branch of this state.''
Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj called allegations of a cover-up ''ridiculous.
Sen. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat who has championed the family's case for months, said she had held her fire against Bush and Ober to allow the prosecutor time to thoroughly investigate the killing.
Now, she believes the delay is no longer intended to give prosecutors time but politicians cover.
''Someone was told to sit on this investigation and I'm not sure who gave those orders,'' Wilson said. ``There has been so much uncovered that maybe they think it's best to sit on it.
LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:16 AM
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