Staff charged in boot camp death

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6192910.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A nurse and seven former wardens of a boot camp for juveniles in Florida have been charged with manslaughter over the death of a 14-year-old inmate.

Martin Lee Anderson died in January shortly after arriving at the camp.

While an initial post-mortem concluded he had died of a blood disorder, a second inquiry said he had suffocated at the hands of the guards.

Protests followed the release of a tape showing the boy being hit by guards, who said he was being uncooperative.

If convicted, the former wardens and the nurse who watched the incident could face up to 30 years in prison.

'Suffocation'

The first autopsy, by Bay County Medical Examiner Dr Charles Siebert, said Anderson had died from complications of sickle cell trait.

But that conclusion sparked outrage after a video appeared showing guards surrounding him - some holding him while others apparently hit him.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush then ordered an investigation that led to a second autopsy.

Dr Vernard Adams, who carried out the second post-mortem, said Anderson died because his mouth was blocked and was forced to inhale ammonia fumes.

The "forced inhalation" caused his vocal cords to spasm and block his upper airways, the Hillsborough County medical examiner concluded.

The guards had said in an incident report that they used ammonia capsules five times on Anderson to gain his co-operation.

The teenager had been sent to the camp for violating probation by trespassing at a school after he and his cousins were charged with stealing their grandmother's car from a church parking lot.

The boy's family is seeking more than $40m in damages.