justice4kids.org
Home Criminalizing Youth Boot Camps The Department My Word! Our Blog: J4KBuzz Web Sites News Clips Contacts

 

 

The White House Boys
THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS SURVIVOR'S ORGANIZATION A Project Dedicated to the Survivors of the "White House."
- Press Contact: Robert Straley rrstraley@hotmail.com.

To read more about the White House Boys, click here.

Report abuse at Dozier School for Boys
Contact Ben Montgomery
Tampa Bay Times
bmontgomery@tampabay.com
(727) 893-9650 [May 2012}

Leo Boatman: Product of the system or natural-born killer?

09/12/10 Leo Boatman had 'uniquely awful' path to murder" ― If you believe the killer, when he raised his rifle that day, he was aiming at all of us." [continued]

!!PEN PAL WANTED!! Leo Boatman is now 24 and would appreciate pen pals. Pen pals will give him something to do, things to think about...and a link to the 'real' world. He is interested in exchanging ideas about travel, history and life. He can receive letters and no more than 10 sheets of blank lined paper, 10 blank envelopes & 20 stamps, per mailing.
Use this mailing address:

Leo Boatman 129327
Florida State Prison
7819 NW 228th St.
Raiford, FL 32026

For more information contact Steve@justice4kids.org.

Blade Reed

Kids in custody in the US are too often treated worse than animals. Click here to read about Blade Reed in Indiana. Then, sign the petition Humane treatment for Blade Reed.

 

07/14/08 Don't Talk to Police!?Justice4Kids.org received a link to a video presentation by Professor James Duane and Virginia Beach Police Department Officer George Bruch. The title of the presentation is Don’t Talk to Police!  It warns that you can be convicted by talking to the police even if you are innocent and tell the truth! Talking to the police "can not help you!" Click here to view the 48-minute video. To read your rights, written by Bob Dillinger, Florida Public Defender, 6th Circuit, click here.

 

DJJ bad apple  Bad Apples in DJJ? No! Say it isn't so! If you learn of a DJJ bad apple, tell us: Cathy@justice4kids.org.

"Our conduct will be professional and always place the public's interest above self-interest. We will avoid any appearance of impropriety, prejudice, threats, favoritism, or undue influences." ~DJJ Mission Statement

Ever wonder why DJJ never seems to get any better? Click here... to learn how DJJ treats staff who attempt to work within the "system" to make positive changes.

 

My rights Bob Dillinger Public Defender 6th Circuit
Honorable Behavior

 

Now they can read!
Justice4Kids spent nearly five years insisting that kids in Florida's Juvenile Detention Centers be allowed to read books in their sleeping rooms. As of March 10, 2006, they can!
Click here to read the DJJ memo and to learn the story behind the books. Also. read how new DJJ Secretary Peterman "petered out" when asked for help in 2002!



Watchdog of Florida's
Department of Juvenile Justice
This site was updated 05/04/2013

Our mission is to give voice to all who participate in Florida’s juvenile justice system: a voice for children, parents, and staff. Our goal is to use that voice to make the system better; to transform it into a service in which the entire community can be proud. TOGETHER, we make a difference!

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Committed to protecting your rights,
because they are my rights too!

Donald A. Harrison
Attorney at Law
Criminal Defense Pinellas/Pasco/Hillsborough Counties
PO Box 189
Riverview, FL 33568-0189
1.813.935.9040 DonaldAHarrison@yahoo.com

By the numbers: According to DJJ, Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct was the most common school-related referral during FY 2005-06 (5,223 or 26% of total). Click here for more about the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track.

We've been Duped!
Those juvenile arrest records you've been told were "confidential": they're not!

01/08/07 Crusading for confidentiality
FDLE sells "confidential" juvenile arrest records on-line.

Click here for more.

 

Join the discussion at Yahoo Discussion Group AbuseInFloridaDJJ.

 

For more information on abuse in the juvenile justice system, click here.

 

Government run amok!

Greg Pound outside the
Pinellas County
Criminal Justice Center
August 31, 2010
 

It's the law: Florida gets a $4000 bounty for each adopted child. Click here for details.

11/24/07 Father of five loses battle for parental rights

11/11/07 State to parents: We know best for kids

08/09/07 Despite lack of charges, man loses four children
Bill Stone, TAMPA BAY SUN

Pinellas County leads state in number of children taken from families

[Greg Pound's] three children were taken from him after the second-youngest suffered an attack by a relative's dog. The court is seeking to terminate Pound's parental rights... His wife remains on the run more than a year after disappearing with their youngest child...to prevent the state from taking custody. Pound has no criminal record in Pinellas County and has not been charged with any crime. He maintains the state is dead wrong regarding the handling of his case.
Click here to read the complete article.

For more testimony, visit FreeOurKids.com.

Click here to send a message to your representatives.

"Florida monitors zoos and animal shelters with greater scrutiny and professionalism than DJJ monitors the contracted providers that reap profits from troubled kids and families. It's all about politics and money."
~Anonymous
, 11/22/06

  05/03/13 "The confluence of [Bartow High School's] insistence on a zero-tolerance interpretation of their code of conduct and [Assistant State Attorney] Glotfelty's decision to criminalize [16-year old Kiera] Wilmot for a harmless mistake powerfully illustrates the absurdity of these inflexible approaches to school discipline." [complete article]

04/13/13 Dozier: "But no matter how many tell of being tortured at the Florida School for Boys, no matter how similar their stories or how many old newspaper clippings support their claims, some residents here refuse to believe them." [complete article]

03/27/13 Dozier:  "Growing up, it was always known that you don't want to misbehave because you don't want to end up at the Marianna boys school," [Sen. Bill] Nelson said, recalling trips through town to visit his grandparents. "Now there are a lot of questions we want answers to." [complete article]

03/25/13 "Juvenile crime has declined 28 percent in Highlands County during the past four years. The question is why."[complete article]

01/13/13 “If you think you do something at 15, it’s no big deal. Let me tell you … it can be a very big deal,” said Barbara Gerlock, chairwoman of the Circuit 15 Juvenile Justice Board. “You may have consequences that will stay with you for the rest of your life.” [complete article]

12/13/12 "[Sen. Bill] Nelson, D-Fla., sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder after the USF team released a report on Monday saying it had found 50 grave shafts on [Dozier] property, 19 more than Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators found..." [complete article]

10/12/12 "New evidence unearthed by researchers at the University of South Florida may shed light on where...dozens of other boys who died in state custody are buried... [complete article]

07/14/12 Zero Tolerance: “[S]tudents who misbehave in school, doing things that are not a threat to public safety, ...arrested and punished in the same way as those students who constitute actual safety threats. This practice [funnels] many future contributing members of our society into juvenile facilities while perpetuating the marginalization of our nation’s most at-risk students.” [complete article]

07/21/11 In teen’s death, lack of money is no excuse for lack of caring The only accurate diagnosis may have come from [Justice4Kids Cathy] Corry. “The staff didn’t care.” She was referring to the Eric Perez death, but the tragic underpinnings of both cases [Omar Paisley 2003] seem sadly interchangeable. [complete text]

10/06/08 "If you believe that your child has been harmed while in the care of the Department, we will be happy to review the case."- John Walsh, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. [Click here to read the complete message.]

If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!

 

"We will establish and maintain safe programs for youth that will better prepare them for adulthood." ~DJJ Mission Statement

 

Four Boys...Omar Paisley

Shawn Smith, Danny Matthews, Omar Paisley, and Martin Anderson never met but they did have things in common: they were boys; they were in their teens; and they died while in the custody and care of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Click on a picture of each boy to read more.

If you are not outraged you are not paying attention!

A supporter at "Bay Walk" rally 8/13/05Speak out!
The English statesman and champion of human rights, Edmund Burke stated: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

To report abuse/neglect that occur to youth in FL's DJJ custody:
DJJ CCC: 800-355-2280
Abuse Hotline: 800-96ABUSE

To contact Justice4Kids use the form on our Contacts page.

 

 

If you agree that the juvenile justice system must be reformed...Then you can begin to make some changes. Here are a few suggestions:

bullet

Tell others about the experiences you have had with the "system";

bullet

Hand out fliers at your nearest JDC, court house and at neighborhood functions;

bullet

Research archives; verify facts; and

bullet

Tell people about justice4kids.org

bullet

Speak out on the Justice4Kids.org blog Juvenile Justice Florida Style at J4KBuzz.blogspot.com

Click here to contact us.

top

Welcome to justice4kids.org! Hopefully, this site will show you that you are not alone in your frustration with Florida's juvenile justice system. You will find that aspects of the "system" that are confusing, odd and, often, just plain wrong are not figments of your imagination. Fortunately, there are moms and dads and grandparents, too, who can help you and your family get through the tangled web of "juvenile justice".


Remember, together we make a difference!

top

We are a medium for the exchange of information and opinions. Statements made (both signed and anonymous or by way of links to other sites) have not been investigated to determine fact or truth.

Therefore, before forming a conclusion or using information from this website, research by the reader is essential.

Copyright © 2001-2013 justice4kids.org, inc. -- An all-volunteer effort! All rights reserved.