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04/09/08 Too popular, DJJ bans Justice4Kids.org Appropriated Press Tallahassee In one of his first acts since his anointment as Secretary of Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice, former state representative Frank Peterman awarded Justice4Kids.org the number nine spot in the coveted Top 10 rank of the department’s prestigious Sites to Block List or S2Bid. Cathy Corry, Founder and President of the not-for-profit advocacy group Justice4Kids.org, was jubilant. In an open statement to Peterman, posted on her blog, J4KBuzz.blogspot.com, she wrote, “Your critical decision to 'ban' DJJ staff from accessing JUSTICE4KIDS.ORG may actually bring more attention to JUSTICE4KIDS.ORG!” The S2Bid list acknowledges websites repeatedly visited by DJJ employees. In effect, the list represents an employee popularity vote. Other sites on the list, frequented by DJJ staff, include jobs.com, job.net, and careerbuilder.com. The current list has twenty-two sites. Elisa Watson, DJJ Public Information Officer, added, "We know that all things work together for good." As representative of Florida’s district 55 and member of the state legislature’s juvenile justice committee, it was Peterman, who earlier refused to follow through with his support for Justice4Kids.org’s initiative to allow books in the rooms of youth held in DJJ’s juvenile detention centers (JDC). According to Corry, a Peterman aide told her, "Frank Peterman is not your representative; you should have addressed your concerns with your representative in Clearwater.” Despite Peterman’s lack of interest in youth, Justice4Kids.org prevailed. Today, youth in detention may read books in their rooms. Visit Now they can read! To read the text of DJJ’s e-mail to all of its employees announcing the list, click "Blocked Internet Sites", from Dave Kallenborn, Chief of Management Information Systems, to “All-DJJ” dated April 8, 2008. To view the list, which was attached to the agency-wide e-mail, click BlockList.pdf.
03/18/08
Barreiro, going to DJJ, scrambles House race In a surprise twist that will affect the GOP's quest to take back the HD 107 seat, Gus Barreiro is taking a job with the Department of Juvenile Justice. The former lawmaker has long wanted to work with the agency but when the opportunity seemed to fade, Republicans courted him to run for his old House seat, now held by Democrat Luis Garcia of Miami Beach. Barreiro declared he was running but never formally filed. Barreiro, who starts his new job Monday, will be chief of residential operations and quality improvement. He will earn $72,000. 02/08/08
Savvy chief at child justice Excerpt: Rep. Frank Peterman, a minister, is to be officially named today. TALLAHASSEE - State Rep. Frank Peterman, a St. Petersburg Democrat long involved in child welfare issues, will be named this morning as the head of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Gov. Charlie Crist is to make the announcement at the Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum in St. Petersburg. Peterman, 45, replaces Walt McNeil, who has been appointed corrections secretary, and will join McNeil as one of two high-ranking African-American appointees in the Crist administration. 02/07/08
TYC conservator Nedelkoff to resign from Florida The Texas Youth Commission’s new conservator announced Thursday he was stepping down from his job with a Florida juvenile justice firm, a job he’d intended to keep while reforming the embattled state agency. Richard Nedelkoff’s decision follows strong questioning from state lawmakers on Wednesday about whether his dual employment posed a conflict of interest. “I take this action to avoid any appearance of impropriety,” said Mr. Nedelkoff, who was appointed conservator by Gov. Rick Perry in late December. "Reforming TYC and improving the lives of the staff and youth in the agency’s care will be my solitary goal.” Until Thursday, Mr. Nedelkoff was still receiving a salary from Florida-based Eckerd Youth Alternatives. [Read article below.}
02/06/08
[Florida] Legislators cast wary eye on TYC consulting deals New conservator defends deals with Florida [DJJ]officials. One — and perhaps three — Florida officials being brought in at taxpayer expense to assist with reforms at the troubled Texas Youth Commission have work-related connections to a company headed by the Texas commission's new conservator, officials said Tuesday. News of the consulting deals — one of which has been signed, while two others are pending — drew surprise and questions from legislative leaders who expressed concerns about a possible conflict of interest at an agency that has been plagued by problems in the past year. Richard Nedelkoff Conservator over TYC. Richard Nedelkoff is continuing in his job as chief operating officer of Florida-based Eckerd Youth Alternatives Inc. while he serves as the $160,000-a-year Texas Youth Commission conservator. On its Web site, Eckerd promotes itself as "a leading provider of day treatment and residential therapeutic programs for delinquent youth" for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Nedelkoff said he sees no conflict of interest in contracting to bring in Rex Uberman, the Florida agency's deputy secretary for residential services, as an outside expert to "evaluate different aspects of TYC's operations." Uberman, the former head of the Crime Victims Services Division at the Texas attorney general's office, could not be reached for comment. According to the contract, Texas is paying Uberman's travel and living expenses while consulting. He is to work 15-30 hours a week. The contract, signed by officials at TYC and the Florida agency, runs through August. A Youth Commission spreadsheet shows that TYC is negotiating consulting contracts with at least two other officials at the Florida agency: John Criswell, a top quality assurance official who monitors the agency's residential and detention contracts, and Mary Mills, a regional director who oversees an Eckerd Youth Alternatives program. State Rep. Jerry Madden, the House Corrections Committee chairman, learned Tuesday about the consulting deals. The Richardson Republican said the contracts "need some explaining. There's a valid question here that needs to be answered." State Sen. John Whitmire — who is Criminal Justice Committee chairman and heads a special legislative committee with Madden overseeing TYC reforms — said the Florida consultants "raise serious concerns." Whitmire, D-Houston, said, "It looks like (Nedelkoff is) bringing in people who use his business." Nedelkoff said contracts have not been signed with several people on the list, and may not be. "We're still talking ... I don't know whether they're coming or not," he said. "As I said earlier, I'm going to be bringing in people who I think have the expertise we need," Nedelkoff said. "They have resources we need ... I can't understand the concern about bringing these people in." Kevin Cate, a spokesman for the Florida agency, said he was not familiar with details of the Texas contracts and could not immediately comment on whether the arrangement might pose a conflict of interest. But, he said, "I can tell you, Rex is fantastic. He's the best in the business." 02/02/08
More Principal, Less Police Excerpt: Schools are no doubt safer by the presence of uniformed police, but that doesn't mean the officers can be in charge. The principal is ultimately responsible for protecting every student and, as a recent Times report reveals, too many of them disregard the rights of students and allow misconduct to be treated as a crime. A playground incident at Riviera Middle School in St. Petersburg is a prime example. As described in the reporting of Times writers Tom Marshall and Jonathan Abel, two 14-year-old students knocked down another student and stole his $2 in lunch money and a handful of candy. Not waiting on parents to arrive, the school resource officer interrogated the teenagers and arrested them for what he deemed to be felony strong-arm robbery... People need not feel sympathy… The perpetrators had been caught and were in no position to harm any other students, yet the principal let police call the shots. Together, the principal and police then ignored the legitimate interests of the students… Maybe the students should ultimately have been charged with a crime, but there is little evidence the principal considered any other option… Robert Evans, a circuit judge in Orange and Osceola counties who has fought for reform, sees what happens to students when schoolyard fights become crimes. "They won't be able to get a job, they won't be able to go to college," Evans told the Times. "They're screwed for life." 01/20/08
When students are suspects, lines blur Excerpt: The officer radioed for backup. A crime had been committed on the playground at Riviera Middle School in St. Petersburg. The cop called it felony strong-arm robbery. He tried to reach detectives. School officials tried to phone parents of two suspects, but the officer could wait no longer and began interrogating them. Eventually, the two 14-year-olds waived their Miranda rights, confessed and went to jail. Their crime? Knocking down a 13-year-old classmate, stealing $2 in lunch money and a handful of candy. They got Jolly Ranchers, Snickers and a lollipop. Florida police frequently skirt state and federal laws, or violate them outright, when questioning children at school, a St. Petersburg Times investigation has found. Often police question juvenile suspects first, and leave the Miranda warning for later. In some cases they question kids at school and take them to jail without notifying the principal. Or they interrogate them as suspects before trying to notify their parents, in violation of state law. Even when police don't cut legal corners, experts say the push to station officers in most middle and high schools has brought a raft of unintended consequences: blurred roles, unclear legal authority and a sharp increase in school arrests for minor infractions that could be handled out of court. Principals, the last line of defense for kids jeopardized by police misconduct, rarely challenge resource officers or other police who enter school to interrogate students. And children are saddled with criminal records that can follow them for a lifetime. "They won't be able to get a job, they won't be able to go to college," said Judge Robert Evans of the 9th Judicial Circuit. "They're screwed for life"... 01/16/08
Juvenile chief to head prisons Excerpts: TALLAHASSEE - Walt McNeil traded one tough state job for another Tuesday as Gov. Charlie Crist tapped Florida's juvenile justice chief to run the exponentially larger prison system… "I wanted to pick somebody that I knew, that I had confidence in," Crist said at a morning news conference. "I just had a personal relationship and an affinity for this man." The decision was Crist's, not McNeil's, and happened with breakneck speed after McDonough's resignation plans leaked out last week… McNeil's salary has not been set. McDonough was paid $125,750… His master's degree from St. John's University, a correspondence school in rural Louisiana, came under scrutiny last year because it came from an unaccredited school. However, neither of his state jobs has required a master's degree. 12/24/07
Give our children a brighter future To the readers of the St. Petersburg Times: There are children in our community in need of your help this holiday season. I am a circuit coordinator of the Department of Juvenile Justice in Pasco and Pinellas counties. In our area last year, 11,482 children were referred to our department. This figure highlights the challenge DJJ faces in reducing the number of young people in the juvenile justice system. Our community can give local children a brighter future by volunteering time and ideas. There are a number of ways you can help this holiday season and throughout the year. Each county in our area has an active juvenile justice council that is looking for innovative approaches to stop juvenile delinquency. I invite you to become part of one of our councils so that you may offer your help and ideas on how to stop the growth of juvenile crime. If you are interested in becoming a member of your local juvenile justice council, or in learning about other ways of volunteering - such as mentoring, assisting with faith- and community-based programs, or offering jobs to our youth - a new Web page is available to let us know of your interests. Please visit www.djj.state.fl.us/friendssurvey for a list of volunteer opportunities with DJJ, or call me for more information at (727) 893-2000. This season let us join hands and build on the good work required to fix juvenile justice. By volunteering, you can intervene with a child before they enter our care. Please volunteer. Tim Niermann, chief probation officer, Circuit 6, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, St. Petersburg 12/24/07
STAR
Academy 'fighting' for funds TALLAHASSEE—They were to bring a "new day" to juvenile justice in Florida—a softer, gentler way to steer children away from crime. Now, more than a year after they were created, only one STAR Academy exists in Florida and that single operating program is cutting back. Born as a response to tragedy at the juvenile boot camps that were its predecessor, the STAR Academy system for juvenile offenders was doomed by a lack of resources to get off the ground, tight money since and the quick setup of the program. "Every year we're fighting," said Kurt Lockwood, who runs the STAR Academy program of the Polk County Sheriff's Department. "I've got personnel leaving left and right." As the Department of Juvenile Justice struggles to change its image and state lawmakers grapple with less revenue, Polk County officials say they are finding it tough to keep afloat the only STAR program in the state. Its $4.4 million budget may get hacked to $2.5 million, Lockwood said. Legislators say the program is a victim of hard economic times for the state and perhaps a program created without the proper funding. The STAR Academies program was born in 2006 as a more gentle replacement to the juvenile boot camp system. It was to be known as "Sheriff's Training And Respect," and developed to emphasize education, family counseling and post-release monitoring of offenders. The new program was a response to the death of Martin Lee Anderson. The 14-year-old Panama City resident was beaten by drill instructors at the Bay County juvenile boot camp on Jan. 5, 2006, and died the day after. The incident was captured on videotape. Eight defendants in the case were acquitted of felony aggravated manslaughter of a child in October and cleared of all charges in Anderson's death. A federal investigation of the incident is ongoing. Some say the five juvenile boot camps operating in Florida at the time Anderson died weren't all bad and that their get-tough model worked. "Unfortunately, they were all painted with a broad brush from what happened in Bay County," said Cathy Craig-Myers, executive director of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association. "The military aspect had to go away. It was perceived as part of the problem." Juveniles arrested and charged criminally get into the Department of Juvenile Justice that works in conjunction with counties. Minor offenses usually end up with the juvenile at home and in a diversion program. More serious offenses, or repeat offenders, get the kids placed in a secure residential program. Between 1993 and 2006, six counties ran juvenile boot camps as one of the options for those more serious offenders. After Anderson's death, the boot camps were shut down and STAR Academies proposed as an alternative. They were designed for high-risk youth who, once they are sent to the secure, residential programs, stay there on average between 18 and 36 months. STAR Academies were designed to be less confrontational than boot camps and weren't supposed to use physical intervention, as boot camps did. The boot camps, Craig-Myers said, were ineffective because of poor resources and not enough well-trained staff. "When you don't have the right resources to attract them, it's a real challenge," she said. "No one wants to run a program that is set up to fail." The same has proven true of the STAR Academies. Sen. Victor Crist, chairman of the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations committee, said it would've been easier to reform the boot camp program instead of creating a new one, as STAR set out to do. "Ultimately, we can only work with resources appropriated, and to start a new program you need startup capital," said Crist, R-Tampa. "The sheriffs were left to eat a whole lot of capital they weren't supposed to swallow." Finding new money to invigorate STAR won't be any easier. Crist said the Criminal and Civil Justice committee is facing a 2.2 percent reduction in funding for its programs this fiscal year and 4 percent less in the coming one. Most sheriff offices that ran boot camps for juvenile offenders—in Bay, Manatee, Pinellas and Martin counties—said they opted not to move to the STAR Academy program because of a lack in funding, said Kevin Cate, DJJ spokesman. Crist said the STAR program is valuable. "But if it's going to take new money, we don't have it," Crist said. "The transition to it happened at the last minute and the locals weren't prepared for it." 11/27/07
Teen sentenced for battering guard A former Department of Juvenile Justice resident has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of battery on detention facility staff. Eight-teen-year-old Justin Caldwell was found guilty by a Jackson County, Fla., jury Nov. 7 of battery on detention staff or commitment facility staff stemming from a February incident at Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, according to the Office of State Attorney Steve Meadows. Caldwell was accused of elbowing, head-butting and kicking Dozier guard James Wooden Jr. during the incident, at which time Caldwell was a resident of the high-risk detention facility. According to Caldwell's attorney, Rick Reno, Caldwell was just five months away from being released from DJJ custody, after an incarceration that began almost five years ago, when he was 13. Caldwell, according to his father, Mark Caldwell, initially began his DJJ incarceration at 13 after being found guilty of theft. Mark Caldwell said it was a series of "petty accusations" that prolonged his son's stay at various DJJ facilities, ultimately landing him at Dozier School. He and Reno allege that Wooden's accusations of battery were made to cover up an incident that occurred later that day, which involved a different guard, Alvin Speights. Speights was accused of battering Caldwell and the incident in question was caught on surveillance footage. After reviewing testimony and the surveillance footage, a Jackson County grand jury exonerated Speights last September, saying "Speights was justified in the use of force required to insure the protection and safety of himself and others and that no criminal charges are warranted against" him. The incident that involved Speights occurred in a Dozier Intensive Supervision Program room, where Caldwell was sent to, as Wooden put it, "cool down" after the incident that has resulted in Caldwell's five-year prison sentence. According to the State Attorney's Office, the five years sentence is the maximum allowed by statute. Florida law requires that an inmate serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top
11/07/07
Jury finds Caldwell guilty of battery in Dozier officer A Jackson County jury found Justin Caldwell guilty of battery on a facility employee at the conclusion of his one-day trial on Wednesday. Sentencing is set for Nov. 27 at 1:30 p.m. Caldwell, 18, was accused of battery on James E. Wooden, an officer at Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys last February, where, at the time, Caldwell was a juvenile resident. The verdict came roughly 30 minutes after the jury posed a question to the court. The panel wanted to know the difference between battery on a facility employee and the lesser charge of battery. Caldwell faces up to five years behind bars on the offense. The lesser charge of battery would have been a misdemeanor. On the witness stand, Wooden said Caldwell had pushed him with his elbow as he passed the guard in the facility's dining hall. Wooden said Caldwell walked on and entered the food line, where Wooden approached him to "counsel" Caldwell, who appeared to be upset over something. Wooden said that was when Caldwell "cussed" him and head-butted him, knocking off his Department of Juvenile Justice hat. Wooden said that, after the alleged head-butt, he attempted to implement a "straight-arm take down," but his feet and Caldwell's became entangled and both fell to the ground. Wooden claimed that after he stood up, Caldwell, still on the ground, kicked him twice. Caldwell's defense attorney Rick Reno disputed Wooden's claims and, in his cross-examination of the witness, used a demonstration in which he and Wooden lightly acted out the incident. Wooden, at 5'11, stood several inches taller than Reno, 5'6, who, as observed by Judge William Wright, was very close to the same height as Caldwell. Reno said that Caldwell was too short to reach Wooden's forehead or hat, claiming that Wooden's accusation was highly questionable. Reno also laid down on the floor of the courtroom in the position Wooden alleged Caldwell was in when he kicked Wooden. The defense attorney, still on the ground, said it was impossible for his feet to reach Wooden where he stood. Witnesses for the defense, which included three Dozier residents, claimed Wooden acted unfairly. They also claimed that Wooden slapped Caldwell in the forehead during the incident. State prosecutor Jonna Bowman argued that the contusion observed on Caldwell's forehead by a Dozier nurse after the incident was not caused by Wooden's hand, rather it was made when Caldwell head-butted the officer. In closing statements, Bowman asked the jury why Wooden would risk his seven-year career with the Department of Juvenile Justice by acting out toward Caldwell. Similarly, in Reno's closing, he asked the jury why Caldwell would act out in the manner for which he was accused when he was only five months away from his release after living in juvenile detention facilities for almost five years. What happened later that day after the incident involving Wooden may be more widely known in the Panhandle. Caldwell was escorted to the Intensive Supervision Program, a one-room cottage used to hold juveniles until they regain self-control. In ISP, Caldwell was involved in an altercation with Dozier guard Alvin Speights. Speights was accused of battering Caldwell and the incident in question was caught on surveillance footage. A Jackson County grand jury exonerated Speights last September, saying "Speights was justified in the use of force required to insure the protection and safety of himself and others and that no criminal charges are warranted against" him. This conclusion, according to the grand jury presentment, was made after reviewing testimony, photographic images and video footage. Caldwell's father, Mark Caldwell, said he plans to continue "to pursue justice," claiming the grand jury was not presented with all of the footage available. He claimed Wooden's accusations against his son were just an effort to cover up the incident that occurred in ISP later that day. More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top 10/27/07
Degree inspires little faith. Excerpts: TALLAHASSEE - When Florida's top juvenile justice official, Walt McNeil, pursued a master's degree, he said he wanted to combine his two passions of religious faith and criminology. But even though he lived in a state capital with two major universities, he chose an obscure correspondence school in rural Louisiana, a decision that has brought criticism from academic experts… McNeil's degree links one of the Florida's top law enforcement officials to a long-festering national problem: the proliferation of degrees from institutions that are widely considered to be questionable. Experts estimate there are thousands of such institutions - and hundreds of thousands of people who have used them to cut corners, pad resumes and, in the view of critics, perpetrate academic fraud… In a previous interview, McNeil was asked whether St. John's might have deceived him. "I can be fooled like anyone else, I guess, but I saw this as a Christian school," he said… Still, some leading experts on the subject question McNeil's motivation and judgment. McNeil is "putting himself on the same standard as other people with legitimate master's (degrees). It's not morally acceptable," said Allen Ezell, a former FBI agent who has written books on the issue and now investigates corporate fraud as a Wachovia vice president in Tampa. "He's a cop. He's a law enforcement officer. He's supposed to lead by example”… In an initial interview last week, McNeil said he could not remember any courses he took at St. John's or the names of any professors or how much tuition he paid. He also was not sure whether he wrote a master's thesis. "I think I did," he said. Friday, McNeil said he was not required to write a master's thesis… A police chief who McNeil said encouraged him to attend St. John's, John Packett of Grand Forks, N.D., has a doctorate in criminal justice from the school but said he does not list it on his resume. "It's just not an appropriate academic credential," said Packett, a former St. John's instructor. He said that while St. John's students did legitimate coursework, he viewed it as continuing education or in-service training… Pamela Winkler, the retired president of St. John's and widow of its founder, said the school has "private accreditation." A 1998-1999 St. John's catalog says the university was accredited by the Beebe, Ark., Accrediting Commission International. "It's basically a guy in some church," said Alan Contreras, who heads Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization, which closely tracks schools with questionable accreditation. "Anything accredited by ACI in Beebe, Ark., is either fake or substandard, as far as I know." Accreditation is a stamp of approval and credibility, a signal that the institution has consistently met an outside group's standards. Winkler said it was school policy to only respond in writing to questions from the media. The Times dictated a list of questions to her last week. As of Friday, Winkler had yet to respond to most of them and did not return two followup calls. But hours after the conversation, she faxed a press release to the Times congratulating McNeil on his appointment as secretary… Times researchers Caryn Baird and Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at (850) 224-7263. Ron Matus can be reached at (727) 893-8873.
10/21/07
Hastings troubled-youth facility has troubles of its own A youth-care worker is arrested for trying to sell marijuanaA worker is charged with pulling a knife on a 16-year-oldA worker is fired after sexual touching with a 16-year-old HASTINGS - Teens are sent to the Hastings Youth Academy with a criminal past and a tenuous future. But the facility, designed to turn young criminal offenders' lives around, has become mired in allegations of drugs, assaults and romantic liaisons. State officials said they are concerned. They have required a corrective plan from the private company that has a $19.3 million contract to run the youth academy, but the three-year taxpayer-funded contract isn't in jeopardy. The firm, Group 4 Securicor Youth Services, acknowledges the program has been what Chief Executive Officer Gail Browne calls "declining," but it promises change. Among the most serious allegations about the Hastings Youth Academy since Group 4 Securicor Youth Services took over a year and a half ago: - Two workers were arrested for crimes involving youths at the facility. - Three workers were found to be having romantic relationships with youths. - State inspectors were called to the facility nine times and substantiated seven misconduct claims; others are pending. - Four youths escaped during that time, all in a six-month period in late 2006. "I will tell you that we're concerned - we're very concerned - about ... Hastings," Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Walter McNeil told the Times-Union last month while in Jacksonville for public hearings. McNeil, appointed in January by Gov. Charlie Crist, said the state is working to resolve issues there. "We will not stand for any [employee], whether it's a DJJ employee or a contractor employee, mistreating the children," McNeil said. This isn't the first time a Group 4 Securicor-run Northeast Florida facility has made headlines. Last year, a Jacksonville teen died at Cypress Creek Juvenile Offender Corrections Center. Workers thought he was playing a prank - by lying motionless and unresponsive - and didn't immediately call 911. Keeping the Sheriff's Office busy Hastings Youth Academy is designed for juvenile offenders considered "high risk" or "moderate risk," which means they could have committed crimes that range from trespassing on school property to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office was called to the Florida 207 facility about 150 times from January 2006 to Sept. 11, according to Sheriff's Office statistics. The calls include everything from incidents of escape to assault to drugs being found. In some cases, there have been allegations of inappropriate touching by staff members or of staffers selling drugs to the 14- to 19-year-old males housed there. In two of the most recent incidents, youth care worker Paulette Michner was arrested on charges of taking marijuana into the facility to sell and this spring, youth care worker Cynthia Terrell was fired after videotapes showed her and witnesses told of her engaging in sexual touching with a youth during class. She wasn't charged with a crime because the youth was 16 and was the one touching her, according to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office spokesman Chuck Mulligan. Browne said the company is "ruthless" when it comes to reporting such incidents and has a low tolerance for employee misconduct. She places some of the blame for problems on a lack of money. She said that has kept front-line staff salaries down - some are paid $8 an hour - and leads to trouble recruiting staff members who are more likely to stay out of trouble. "Over the years, that has really hurt the program, all of our programs - but especially Hastings," Browne said. She said the facility's remote location in western St. Johns County and its proximity to St. Augustine mean more enjoyable service jobs are available elsewhere. A change of service course Soon the facility will house only moderate-risk youths, with the high risks already transferred and those spaces being converted to use by moderate-risk youths who need intensive mental health services. A new administrator also will arrive at Hastings this month, Browne said. The last two left for other positions within the company. Lisa Steely, juvenile coordinator for the Public Defender's Office in Jacksonville, said she's encouraged by the new secretary, McNeil, but is waiting to see if cash and action follows. She said juvenile justice programs have suffered since privatization because of low funding and inadequate oversight. "Taking a kid and warehousing them for six to nine months if you don't deal with underlying problems won't help," Steely said. Michael O'Loughlin, who oversees St. Johns County school system-run classes at the Hastings Youth Academy, said he believes the new administration at Hastings is trying to resolve the problems. The school system has no control over the facilities, and teachers at Hastings have told their principal they were at times afraid to venture into the hallways because of disturbances. "We're very much trying to be supportive of their efforts," he said. If the institution isn't under control, he said, it's hard for the district's teachers to do their job. "What we're trying to do is ... make sure that things that happen outside the classroom don't interfere," he said. deirdre.conner@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4504 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE LIST GOES ON Among the incidents reported at the Hastings Youth Academy in the past year and a half: DRUGS Marijuana found Marijuana is found under a sink and three youths test positive for the drug. Case manager Patrick Fessel, the former facility administrator, is reprimanded more than a year after the incident for improperly supervising visitors, who introduced the contraband. (Feb. 23, 2006) Pills found A bag of the psychotropic drug Adderall is found. It was determined inmates were "cheeking" the pills - holding them in their mouth instead of swallowing them. (Sept. 15, 2006) Worker sells drugs Youth-care worker Paulette Michner is arrested on charges of taking marijuana into the facility to sell to at least one and possibly two students. (Aug. 31) YOUTH/STAFF CONTACT Text messages After a youth is found with a cell phone, administrators discover he had been trading romantic text messages with youth care worker Dawnyell Denson. She was suspended and never returned for a conference, which constituted an automatic resignation according to the facility's policy. (May 19, 2006) Porn found A youth reports that mental-health therapist Robert L. Harris Jr. was viewing pornography on his office computer while on duty. The investigation was inconclusive as to whether another employee shared it with youths. Both were terminated for other reasons. (Dec. 7) Love letters Youth care worker Graciela DeLeon was found to be trading romantic letters with a youth. She was terminated Feb. 17. (Feb. 7) Classroom touching A youth anonymously reports that worker Cynthia Terrell and another youth were engaging in sexual touching during a class. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office declines to arrest her because the youth was 16 and because she was allowing him to touch her, not the reverse. She was terminated May 1. (April 25) ASSAULTS Unreported incident State investigators find a supervisor forged the signature of a youth and refused to allow him to call an abuse hotline after he was hit in the head by a radio thrown by a youth-care worker in September 2006, an incident that sent the youth to the hospital. Shift supervisor Tyrone Wilkerson was terminated Dec. 26. The youth-care worker, Ramon Powell, also was terminated. (Dec. 12) Threat with knife Youth-care worker Kevin Dewayne Ford was charged with aggravated assault after a surveillance tape showed him pulling a knife from his pocket and flicking it open during an argument with a 16-year-old inmate. (June 22) Source: Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
10/16/07
Boot camp case's final verdict still unwritten Excerpt: Another criminal trial with racial overtones has come to a conclusion that failed to satisfy many Floridians, black and white, that justice was served. Seven boot camp guards and a nurse were acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old inmate Martin Lee Anderson. Four of the guards and the nurse are white (one guard is Asian-American and two African-American) while Anderson was black. The death and trial took place in Panama City in Florida's conservative Panhandle. Add those elements together, and you have a recipe for racial tension and distrust…
10/13/07
All acquitted at boot camp all not guilty at boot camp Excerpt: THE VERDICT: After a long controversy, decision is swift. REACTION: A protest breaks out; a U.S. inquiry is planned. REACTION: Verdict brings a protest and a boycott threat. WHAT'S NEXT: Federal officials promise to investigate. The quiet lasted just seconds after the judge read the jury's verdicts. "Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty ..." 10/12/07 Boot camp trial's tone: this city vs. the world Sue Carlton. St. Petersburg Times. Excerpt: From the beginning, the case of the boy and the boot camp had two distinct backdrops: this small Southern town where it happened, and pretty much everywhere else. The world reacted with horror at the grainy scenes of 14-year- old Martin Lee Anderson being struck methodically by guards, being forced to inhale ammonia, his body gone limp. Thousands protested in Tallahassee. The governor got hip deep in the situation. Boot camps got shut down. In some corners of Panama City, things looked a little different…
10/06/07
Defense attorney, doctor spar on Day 3 of boot camp trial Excerpts: PANAMA CITY -- In early 2006, Dr. Vernard Adams first watched a video of Martin Lee Anderson's last moments at a juvenile boot camp. He saw guards force ammonia in the 14-year-old's face. To Adams, it all looked wrong. He disagreed with a fellow medical examiner's opinion that Anderson died of a rare blood disorder. "The death could not be natural because it was not caused exclusively by disease," Adams testified Friday in the trial of boot camp employees accused of killing the teen. … Defense attorneys criticized his approach. "If your interpretation of the video is wrong, then your cause of death is wrong. Would you agree with that?" asked attorney Robert Sombathy. "Yes," Adams replied… Graham questioned Adams' motivations in a high-profile case that led to harsh criticism of Bay County Medical Examiner Charles Siebert… …"You were the man of the hour, weren't you?" Graham asked sarcastically. "And you looked upon this as a duty thrust upon you by the governor, right?" "Yes," Adams answered calmly. …Graham portrayed Adams as an outsider who fell victim to political pressure. He asked Adams where he grew up. Adams answered, "Maine." Graham responded: "I grew up right here." …Graham asked if Adams felt a need to please everyone. Adams said no… Still, Graham continued to press him on that point. "All this background, all this knowledge that you had and, lo and behold, Dr. Vernard Adams issues a report that clearly will not get him criticized by the media?" Graham asked. "No, sir, that's incorrect," Adams said. Adams said he had no doubts the guards and nurse played a role in Anderson's death. "This is the only place in the world that I am aware of where ammonia capsules were used in this way," he said.
10/05/07
Anderson trial tells two tales of a town Excerpt: The jurors, the accused, the courtroom so divided you could label one side "guilty" and the other "not guilty" like guests at a wedding - all went still when the video played. Up front, Martin Lee Anderson's mother gave a low moan. You couldn't read the face of the judge, a working man's Harrison Ford, or the jurors, who did not take their eyes off the screen. What will they make of that infamous, silent boot camp video of a 14-year-old boy manhandled by seven guards as a nurse looks on... Tired of scenes of a boy collapsing and dragged upright again, scenes you don't stop seeing, I left and drove to where Martin lived. It is literally on the other side of the tracks, a scrubby street of ramshackle houses. A few blocks over is the cemetery, the grass too high, fence sagging. He is there, flanked by stone angels, not a hero, not a monster, just gone. What will the jury call what happened to Martin Lee Anderson? Sad comes to mind. And sorry. And wrong. 10/03/07
Boot-camp-death trial begins today Excerpts: PANAMA CITY - The trial in the death of Martin Lee Anderson will begin this morning and along with it the controversy of two conflicting autopsy reports, racial divisions surrounding the teen's death and unrest that the verdict will come from a jury with no black jurors. It's been a year and nine months since Anderson died, and after protests at the Capitol demanding charges in the boy's death and a $5 million settlement with the boy's parents, the high-profile case is sure to stir emotions again.
10/02/07
Martin Lee Anderson's boot camp guards go on trial Excerpts: A year and 10 months after Martin Lee Anderson's caught-on-tape beating and subsequent death -- and the widely publicized fallout, scandals and settlements -- a jury will begin to hear the case today in Panama City to answer just one question: Did seven guards and a nurse each commit aggravated manslaughter? Despite the seeming simplicity of the charge, the complexities of the black teen's death and the fact that not one African American sits on the jury will make getting a conviction difficult, legal experts and observers of the case say. ''Panama City is a tough place to try a case like this,'' said Miami lawyer Edward Carhart, who is not connected to the case and has reviewed it for The Miami Herald. ''This is a very conservative community, with a lot of retired military people…,'' Carhart said, ``but there is a base population in the Panhandle that has been here for many years.'' ... NAACP plan to protest today the racial make-up of the jury as well as what they say was an ''agreement'' between a special prosecutor and the defense to limit experts who would testify over the use of force. Defense lawyers say that there was no use calling those experts because they canceled each other out... Also, though the defense kept four black jurors off the case, the prosecution removed one black potential juror. Two jurors allowed to serve, though, are acquainted through church and work with two of the defendants. Each faces a maximum 30-year sentence… Perhaps an even higher hurdle than the jury's racial make-up: The case has dueling autopsies, each with controversial findings. One found that Martin died of natural causes, the other from asphyixiation from ammonia capsules shoved in his face by the guards who body-slammed, kneed, punched and pressure-pointed him the morning of Jan. 5, 2006… 07/13/07
Doing time for no crime Excerpts: ARTHUR CARMONA testified recently in support of state legislation aimed at preventing wrongful convictions. One week after my 16th birthday, I was arrested and charged with crimes I did not commit. . . . three years of suffering beatings, threats and degradation in a series of juvenile and state prisons. . . The criminal justice system took my innocence from me. Now, I am fighting to prevent wrongful convictions and to help innocent people still in prison. A young man freed after being wrongly imprisoned argues for three remedies. ---------- The article: ONE WEEK after my 16th birthday, I was arrested and charged with crimes I did not commit. I remained behind bars in a life unsuitable for any innocent person. After I served nearly three years of a 17-year sentence, the real facts of my case began to emerge and a judge let me go free. My life, however, will never be the same, and I am determined to change the laws that make it so easy for innocent people to be convicted. On Feb. 12, 1998, I decided to visit a friend. While I was walking down a residential street, a Costa Mesa police officer stopped me at gunpoint. I was handcuffed and surrounded by other police officers with guns drawn. One officer forced a baseball cap onto my head and made me stand on the curb. I did not know it at the time, but witnesses from a robbery had been brought to identify me in what is known as an "in-field show-up," a procedure that is highly likely to produce mistaken identifications. I was arrested in connection with 13 strong-arm robberies. My mother was able to gather evidence proving that her 15-year-old son was in school during 11 of the robberies. But we had no evidence to prove that, at 2 a.m. on a school night, I was home asleep while someone robbed a Denny's restaurant, and we had no proof that I was home baby-sitting my 11-year-old sister during the time a juice bar in another city was being robbed. The getaway driver, a parolee with a long criminal record, admitted being involved in the robberies. He first told police he did not know me and that I was not involved. Then the Orange County district attorney offered him a sentence of two years if he would say I was. He took the plea bargain and his story changed; he was freed from prison before I was. The court found me guilty of two strong-arm robberies, and I was facing 35 years for crimes I took no part in. The judge sentenced me to 12 years in state prison. I was 16, with no criminal record. I would have been eligible for parole in nine years, with two strikes to my name, one strike away from a life term. Two and a half years later, just before my hearing on getting a new trial based on a writ of habeas corpus, the Orange County district attorney offered me a deal, and after three years of suffering beatings, threats and degradation in a series of juvenile and state prisons, I accepted it. I signed a "stipulation" — a piece of paper stating that I would not sue any city, county or state prosecutors. Orange County Superior Court Judge Everett Dickey ordered me released and my felonies vacated. Although I could finally go home, I could not go back to my old life. While I was behind bars, my high school class graduated without me. I was no longer the fun-loving teenager I once was. The criminal justice system took my innocence from me. I have not received any compensation, or even an apology. And the two felonies remain on my record, despite the judge's order and the intervention last year of then-Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer. Now, I am fighting to prevent wrongful convictions and to help innocent people still in prison. I am also supporting a series of state bills that would make it harder for what happened to me to happen to other people. I have traveled to Sacramento in the last two years to urge the Legislature to pass legislation that would help prevent wrongful convictions. Two of these bills passed last year, only to be vetoed by the governor. This year, three bills are being considered. Senate Bill 756, sponsored by Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), would require the state Department of Justice to develop new guidelines for eyewitness identification procedures. For example, guidelines in other states limit the use of in-field show-ups like the one that led to my wrongful conviction. Senate Bill 511, sponsored by Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), would require recording of the entire interrogation, including the Miranda warning, in cases of violent felonies. Electronic recording of interrogations would not only help end false confessions but also discourage police detectives from lying during interrogations — as they did in my case by claiming to have videotaped evidence of me. Senate Bill 609, sponsored by Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), would prevent convictions based on uncorroborated testimony by jailhouse snitches. The Legislature should pass all three bills, and the governor should sign them. These reforms are urgently needed to prevent wrongful and unjust incarcerations. Prison is no place for an innocent man, let alone an innocent kid. ###
06/09/07
Juvenile facilities rated among state's worst Excerpts: Northeast Florida facilities for juvenile offenders are rife with unacceptable problems, from crumbling buildings to shoddy treatment, according to state audits putting them among the worst in Florida. Seven of the region's eight centers are minimal or failing, the audits show. The one exception, Hastings Youth Academy in St. Johns County , hasn't had a thorough state review since 2005. Statewide, only a quarter of residential programs were ranked as minimal or failing in 2006. Among the common problems found at the teen prisons here were moldy and crumbling buildings, falsified records and inadequate treatment plans… Depending on their crime, young offenders can land at one of about 100 residential programs scattered throughout the state. The state spent $291 million for the programs in fiscal year 2005-06. It's hard to know how some, like the Hastings Youth Academy, are doing because they haven't been checked in years. That's because a good rating ensured a reprieve from audits. The number of such programs tripled from 1997 to 2005, according to a Bureau of Quality Assurance report, which at the time heralded the news as a good thing. This year, all the department's facilities will be audited, regardless of scores. Auditors also won't be giving them advance notice like before… "Providers are in crisis, and prices keep going up," [Amanda Ostrander, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Children's Campaign] said. "It almost seems that those issues continue not to be a priority for the Legislature." As early as December 2003, the Legislature's investigative branch slammed Juvenile Justice for the reviews. It said the department gave acceptable ratings to places with clear problems, such as the Florida Institute for Girls in West Palm Beach, where a grand jury investigated alleged sexual and physical abuse… That's a good thing, said Michael O'Loughlin, who directs alternative programs for the St. Johns County school system. The district sends teachers to the Hastings Youth Academy, where the average stay is six months to a year, as well as the St. Johns Juvenile Correctional Facility, a longer-term residential facility for high-risk sex offenders… "I think it's important we have a good idea of what's going on inside these facilities," O'Loughlin said. "It's a population that's otherwise easily written off." Breakdown of the area's eight juvenile facilities. PROBLEMS NOTED St. Johns Juvenile Correctional Facility - Significant staff turnover and shortages. - Workers are supposed to check rooms every 10 minutes, but videotape shows they falsified log books. - Nine in 10 workers reviewed were hired before the program received preliminary background checks. - During review period, team members observed lack of good order or control, with staff ignoring bad behavior in some cases. Youths were improperly punished. Duval Halfway House - Reviewers believe the youths' safety and health are jeopardized because of the building's structural problems. - Youths are at risk because the facility was not screening them for suicide risk and one youth with suicide concerns was seen wandering the facility by himself. - Wires hanging from the ceiling and bathrooms that reeked of urine. Nassau Juvenile Residential Facility - Building is structurally challenged inside and out, with rotting wood and holes in the wall. - Reviewers found a knife cabinet unsecured in the kitchen and debris littered on the grounds, including glass, old batteries and inoperable lawnmowers. - Thirty-seven fire violations. - Insufficient staff checks, with youths seen on video running in and out of their rooms into other youths' rooms and roaming the hallways. White Foundation Family Homes - Not all severe and serious incidents were reported, including an arrest and an allegation of physical abuse. When reviewers followed up, all incidents were reported. - A problem with escapes. - Pregnant girls did not get proper prenatal care. STEP (Outward Bound) - Program didn't properly log incident reports. - Three escapes since last review. TigerSHOP - Workers are supposed to check rooms every 10 minutes, but videotape showed they falsified log books and also falsified a medical file. - Program is under investigation for a worker accused of taking seven youths out in the courtyard and giving them marijuana, Ecstasy and Xanax. The worker, who has been dismissed, was already under investigation after reports of taking 13 youths outside to supervise them alone. - Unkempt facilities with objects lodged in the razor wire and floor stripping coming up. - Program is not completing suicide assessments or follow-up assessments of suicide risk. - Improper staff conduct, use of excessive/unnecessary force and multiple youth-on-youth assaults, plus a continuous problem with youth having contraband. Impact Halfway House - Workers are supposed to check rooms every 10 minutes, but videotape shows them falsifying log books. One night, checks weren't made for more than hours while a staff member apparently slept. - Better dental care needed. Hastings Youth Academy (not reviewed since 2005) - Staff reportedly cursed at youths and acted unprofessionally, and youths said they didn't break up fights fast enough. - Workers and youths reported there had been gang activity in the facility during the past year. - About half of the toilets were not in good working order. 05/23/07
Anderson family compensated Excerpt: The family of Martin Lee Anderson was officially awarded $4.8 million Wednesday, when Gov. Charlie Crist signed a law to compensate them for the 14-year-old's death after he was at a juvenile boot camp last year. ''No amount of money can bring Martin back,'' said Crist as he stood next to Martin's parents. ``But the only way we can attempt, as a society, to make this family whole is to compensate them.''
05/01/07
State refuses to step into juvenile justice fray Excerpts: "The DJJ doesn't have any authority to dictate," [Richard Davison] said. "It's my understanding that there is no issue." Tell that to critics of county Commissioner Calvin Harris, the board's chairman. They waved signs that read, "Harris says 'You shut up' " and "Calvin Harris snubs the law." "I'm elected, whether he likes it or not," [Bruce Wright] said. "I'm an elected board member."
04/30/07 Strife erodes a voice for kids Excerpts: "It's been such a volatile atmosphere in the year that I've been on there I don't know what we've accomplished," said Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, whose position on the board is in dispute. "As I understand it, we are supposed to be advocates for youths in the juvenile justice system." "I'm not going to play any mind games," [Calvin Harris] said during the meeting. "What I'm telling you is that these people are not going to be seated. They are not part of this board. And that's that." "They're just getting nothing done," [Bob Dillinger] said. "It's just totally dysfunctional."
04/28/07
Imprisoned since 13, an adult Justin Caldwell remains walled in Excerpts When he closes his eyes, Mark Caldwell sees his son when he was 2 years old, following his father's grownup lawn mower with a little plastic version... Caldwell said that back then, he couldn't imagine what was to come 11 years down the road for his only child. He had no idea Justin Daniel Caldwell would enter the juvenile justice system at age 13 and remain there until he became an adult... Despite the unexpected, Mark Caldwell is not surprised that his son's name would have a hand in a revitalization of the system at Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna that, if successful, could change the futures of the young men who are still hidden behind its walls. The Incident "They didn't expect us to fight back... What is clear on the footage is the violent take-down Caldwell was subjected to by guard Alvin Speights. . . ...it took Speights two seconds to slam Justin by his throat to the floor, where Speights remained on top of Justin for over a minute. Reno said that during that minute, Speights continued choking Justin... More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top 04/27/07
Juvenile Corrections Officer Arrested A 34-year-old Polk County juvenile correctional officer was arrested Monday for having sex with a 15-year-old he met online. Irish Streeter was charged with two felony counts of lewd battery by a suspect over 18 on a victim under 16. During a two-day investigation, Special Victims Unit detectives identified a 15-year-old victim from Mulberry who engaged in sexual intercourse with Streeter after chatting with him online. Streeter admitted to detectives that he had sex with the victim but claimed he did not know her age. He was booked into the county jail without incident. Bond was set at $6,000; Streeter is out on pre-trial release. Streeter is employed by Group 4 Securicor, a private contractor under the auspices of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, to work as a correctional officer at the Polk Correctional Facility in Polk City. 04/21/07
Videotape shows guard choking teenager Excerpts: TALLAHASSEE -- The Department of Juvenile Justice released a video Friday showing what it described as inappropriate use of force by a guard, who choked a teenager at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. The incident, which happened in February, led to the firings of the guard and the head of the state-run Panhandle school for troubled young men... McNeil said he was hoping to act swiftly and publicly to show he is serious about the ''systematic operational problems'' at the school that he said "span the chain of command from top to bottom"... More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top 04/21/07
Admission frozen at Dozier School Excerpts: In what has been called an action that "is certainly not common" among Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, admission at Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna has been frozen at 162 beds... "At this point no admission is being taken in," said DJJ assistant secretary of residential services Rex Uberman... The boys' facility has been under investigation, Uberman said, since February. Around that time, allegations of abuse on 18-year-old resident Justin Caldwell were presented with a plea for help to a wide range of government agencies and media outlets by his father, Mark Caldwell. DJJ secretary Walt McNeil has been quoted in the media as saying the investigation has confirmed that on Feb. 11 Justin Caldwell was choked and thrown down by residential officer Allen Speights, and Caldwell was knocked unconscious when he hit his head on a table during the incident... More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top
04/17/07
Justin Caldwell abused at Dozier School for Boys: The Truth Excerpts: Vancouver, WA (April 17, 2007) - Florida Department of Juvenile Justice abuse. Justin Caldwell, an 18-year old boy, has been incarcerated in the Florida Juvenile Justice System since he was 13. What should have been a 12-15 month stay in a residential treatment center to allegedly “help” Justin turned into a five-year nightmare. Under normal circumstances what occurred in Justin’s life when he was 13 would have been handled with therapy and at home. In any normal state, that is. But in Florida things are different. There is a “Zero Tolerance Policy” when it comes to teenagers in Florida. Children are unjustifiably locked up for years at times, for what most would consider normal teen behavior... There is an entire website dedicated to the Florida DJJ (www.justice4kids.org)... More news clips on Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top
04/14/07
Head of school for juveniles loses job DJJ cites 'systematic' problems at
institution Excerpts: Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Walt McNeil on Friday fired the acting superintendent and a juvenile justice officer at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna after an investigation into abuse of a youth. McNeil said the action was a call for a ''change of culture'' at the school. ''There are systemic operational problems at our Dozier facility that span the chain of command from top to bottom,'' McNeil said. The incident occurred Feb. 11. Justin Caldwell, an 18-year-old at the school, is charged as an adult with battery in an attack on an officer at Dozier School that day. Later that day, McNeil said in an unrelated incident, Caldwell accused juvenile justice residential officer Alvin Speights of choking him, causing him to hit his head on a table that knocked him unconscious. That incident was caught on a security camera... The tape was given to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and could be released early next week... Speights was in the process of being fired Friday, and charges against him are pending in the ongoing investigation, McNeil said. Also, in response to the investigation, John Tallon, regional residential services administrator and acting Dozier superintendent, was fired Thursday... ''We will not accept abuses of any type of our youth,'' McNeil said. [Click
here for a first person account of life at
Greenville Hills Academy. J4K.] 04/14/07
DJJ fires 2 after choke hold Excerpts: TALLAHASSEE -- The Department of Juvenile Justice has fired the head of a school for troubled youths after an investigation concluded that a guard at the Panhandle facility used inappropriate force in February when he choked a teenager, causing him to hit a table and lose consciousness. DJJ Secretary Walt McNeil told reporters Friday that the superintendent of the state-run Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna had been fired on Thursday and that the guard is also being fired. He cited ''systematic operational problems'' at the school that "span the chain of command from top to bottom.” ''When the safety and security of any of the youth in our facilities is compromised for any reason, we will act swiftly and decisively to care for those youth,'' McNeil said, urging anyone knowing of abuse in DJJ programs to report it to him. McNeil said the investigation has not yet concluded whether the guard, Alvin Speights, was acting in retaliation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is reviewing the incident, and Speights may face charges when the investigation ends… Rex Uberman, the department's assistant secretary of residential services, will move his office from Tallahassee to Dozier to supervise the school, which houses 162 boys ages 14 to 21. DJJ has also hired Community Trust, a consulting firm specializing in juvenile-justice management, to take over daily operations. Trust CEO Isaac Williams will act as superintendent… Miami Herald staff writer Tina Cummings contributed to this report.
[Click
here for a first person account of life at
Greenville Hills Academy. J4K.]
04/07/07
Boot camp video used in legislative hearing Excerpts: …"Everyone it seemed had to get in on it, and once that happens, that's intentional. There's no question it's intentional," William T. Gaut, a law enforcement expert, said of the guards who now face criminal charges. "It was unlawful, it was unreasonable, it was excessive and it directly contributed to the death of Mr. Anderson," Gaut asserted. The daylong hearing was much like a court hearing, though the Department of Juvenile Justice offered little rebuttal or cross examination. Deputy Secretary Richard Davison said the agency supports the claims bill, which was first proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Two lawyers appointed by the House and Senate will hear the testimony and later offer a recommendation whether the Legislature should pay the $5-million. The legislature must sign off on any award against the state greater than $200,000 by approving a claims bill. Senate lawyer Jason Vail asked particularly pointed questions trying to establish whether the Department of Juvenile Justice had direct authority over the actions in Panama City… …a former department inspector, who claims he was fired for disagreeing about the handling of the case, said sheriff's officials described the manhandling as routine. "There was no shock, there was no alarm, there was no surprise," Steve Meredith said. "It was like this is how you bake a cake ... It was so clinical.” …Anderson's parents spoke only briefly. "We can't describe what we're going through," Robert Anderson said. He turned away, putting a hand to his head. "Martin is gone," Gina Jones added. "What happened to him was wrong. You all think it's right. You know that's not right at all." Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, watched the hearing and said there is only one outcome. "It's my belief and great hope that every legislator who believes in justice will vote this claims bill up. Anything short is unacceptable."
04/07/07
Weeping parents testify in boot-camp case Excerpts: The parents of a 14-year-old boy who died after he was at a boot camp came a step closer to receiving $5 million in compensation at a legislative hearing. . . . Assuming the Martin Anderson bill reaches his desk, Gov. Charlie Crist intends to sign the claim into law. Crist called the case ''horrible'' and recently agreed the state should pay Martin's parents $5 million for his death after he was beaten by Panama City boot-camp guards last year. . . . Department of Juvenile Justice lawyers said the agency wouldn't defend itself, allowing family attorney Benjamin Crump to call witnesses who portrayed the department and the boot camp as ineffective and cruel. A former inspector general for the department, Steve Meredith, said agency staffers kept use-of-force reports from him for years. Meredith is suing the agency, saying he was fired for speaking out about Martin's death. Meredith also said that when sheriff's personnel showed him the videotape shortly after Martin's death, they used matter-of-fact language to describe the knee-strikes and use of ammonia capsules on Martin in a failed effort to revive him so he could continue running laps. Criminal profiler William Gaut testified the guards were punishing Martin and acting with a "mob mentality.''
03/30/07
Fewer troubled children, fewer adult criminals Excerpts: Since the Legislature created the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in 1994, the agency's mission has shifted from one that "affords opportunities for youth to develop into responsible citizens" to one that primarily warehouses kids who have gotten in trouble with the law. The now-diluted mission statement - "to protect the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency" - is reflected in the state's weak commitment to rehabilitating youth and treating them for mental illnesses and drug and alcohol addictions that contribute to their crimes. New DJJ Secretary Walter McNeil wants to change that. Mr. McNeil has proposed a new vision, mission statement and guiding principles for the agency that in 2004-05 handled more than 95,000 young, delinquent Floridians. He envisions that "The children and families of Florida will live in safe, nurturing communities that provide for their needs, recognize their strengths and support their success." As he sees it, DJJ's mission is "To increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through effective prevention, intervention and treatment services that strengthen families and turn around the lives of troubled youth." To get there, he wants all DJJ employees to be led by a goal of ensuring that "when youth leave our system, they do not return or later enter the adult corrections system." He wants to provide "the right services at the right time and in the least restrictive environment." The fatal beating last year of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson at a Bay County juvenile boot camp uncovered dozens of abuse reports that illustrated DJJ's poor oversight. This week, Bay County agreed to pay the teen's family $2.4 million, and the state is fast-tracking a $5 million settlement. The Palm Beach County juvenile detention center, which also serves the Treasure Coast, has been under court monitor because of understaffing, overcrowding, poor building maintenance and a lack of treatment services. Now, two private companies have bid to take over the center for less money. As the new leader of an agency that has failed to adequately respond to the specific needs of girls, abandoned responsibility by privatizing services with too little money and lax oversight, allowed private companies to hire unqualified guards and failed to protect children in its care from abusive guards, Mr. McNeil's pledge is more than symbolic. His proposals are posted on DJJ's Web site (www.djj.state.fl.us). He has invited the public to send comments to DJJ.Vision@djj.state.fl.us by April 6. 03/28/07
Parents awarded $2.4M in death Excerpts: The parents of a teenager who died after a violent encounter with guards at a juvenile boot camp reached a $2.4-million settlement Tuesday with the Bay County Sheriff's Office... "We were certain the jury would have awarded a $40-million verdict," said the family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump. "The question is: How long would this matter have gone on? It's just been grueling for the family"... A criminal case against the seven guards accused of beating 14- year-old Martin Lee Anderson, and against the nurse who watched, is not affected by the settlement. The defendants have pleaded not guilty...
03/28/07
Parents in boot-camp death reach $2.25M settlement Excerpts: The sheriff's office that ran the boot camp where Martin Anderson was manhandled by guards has agreed to settle with the dead boy's family for more than $2 million... "The civil matter ends this legislative session,'' Crump said. "We wanted a compromise. I think a jury would have given them $50 million. But when would they have collected?" 03/22/07
Adult charges harmful to kids? Excerpt: A report says prosecuting juveniles as adults boosts the likelihood of them being repeat offenders. An estimated 200,000 juveniles a year are charged as adults across the country, and Florida is one of the states leading the charge, said a report released Wednesday... Florida was one of the first states in the 1990s that changed the law to allow prosecutors, instead of juvenile-court judges, to decide whether a youthful offender should be charged as an adult. The result, Ryan said, was that Florida prosecutors charged more kids as adults than all the juvenile-justice judges in the rest of the country combined -- about 7,000 a year.
03/15/07
Crist seeks $5M for teen who died at boot camp Excerpt: TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist implored state legislators Wednesday to give $5-million to the family of a teen who died after guards roughed him up at a Bay County boot camp… If granted, the settlement would be among the largest ever paid to someone aggrieved by the state of Florida, surpassing payments to wrongly imprisoned death row inmates… In letters to House and Senate leaders, Crist urged lawmakers to support a claims bill, part of what he hopes is a $10-million settlement for the family. Such bills are rare. He said he will encourage Bay County officials to match the state's $5-million…
03/14/07
New documents emerge in boot camp death case Excerpt: Almost two years before a Panama City teenager died after he was violently restrained by guards at a Panhandle boot camp, Florida's top juvenile justice administrator wanted to know whether the use of physical force on children in custody was causing ``injuries to youth and staff.'' In an April 29, 2004, e-mail to ranking administrators at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, a DJJ staffer requested detailed information on the use of force at state programs, along with reported injuries to youths and guards. The study had been requested by the agency's interim secretary at the time, C. George Denman. ''This data is necessary for helping senior management make critical decisions,'' DJJ staffer Jeffrey Solie wrote. It is unclear what the study concluded, or if it was even completed. Months later, Denman returned to the state Department of Corrections, where he was an assistant secretary, and Anthony Schembri was named DJJ Secretary by Gov. Jeb Bush. Schembri had previously run New York City's jails... 02/02/07
Judges refuse to unshackle juveniles Excerpt: Palm Beach County's juvenile-court judges agreed Thursday to leave handcuffs and leg irons on juveniles in their courtrooms. The county public defender's office asked the judges last fall to unshackle children who aren't violent or likely to escape, saying the restraints are inhumane and unfair. . . Gov. Charlie Crist has said he opposes the indiscriminate shackling of children, saying it is unfair to restrain those who aren't charged with serious offenses. 01/25/07
DJJ faces suit over suicide Excerpt: An Orlando mother whose 13-year-old son committed suicide while at the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in 2001 has filed two suits against the Department of Juvenile Justice and the agency's attorney for access to records and making defamatory remarks, seeking more than $100,000. Terri Mestre also has a wrongful-death suit pending against DJJ on behalf of her son, Shawn D. Smith, who died in 2001. The suit is set for trial in August, said Mestre's attorney, Ernest Eubanks Jr., who filed the two related suits Tuesday in Leon County Circuit Court. . . Among the claims in the Leon County suits filed this week are that agency attorney Brian Berkowitz made defamatory, false remarks that Mestre caused the death of her son and that DJJ was not at fault. The suit said that Jane McNeely, a nurse consultant with DJJ, said in a deposition that after Smith's death, while in the Quality Assurance Department, Berkowitz was discussing a case unrelated to Mestre's lawsuit when he made what the suit describes as the defamatory remarks about Mestre. . .
01/12/07
Boy, 7, arrested after throwing backpack Excerpt: TAMPA - A deputy arrested a 7-year-old boy at school Wednesday after the boy flung a backpack at an 11-year-old's head at a bus stop, authorities said. . . . Prosecutors say they had advised against arresting the boy. And the county's Juvenile Assessment Center wouldn't take the 7-year-old, so he was returned to school. . . The state attorney will now decide whether to charge the child with misdemeanor battery.
01/09/07
FDLE sued over online access to juvenile arrest data [Subscription is required, although you can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial subscription.] Excerpt: A Miami couple is asking a judge to force the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to remove their teenage daughter’s arrest record for stealing a can of Coca-Cola from its publicly accessible, online database. The record details the Oct. 15, 2006, arrest of then 13-year-old G.G. for shoplifting. It was the girl’s first arrest... The complaint, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by attorneys Don Hayden, Allan Sullivan and Effie Silva of Baker & McKenzie in Miami, asks for a declaratory judgment stating that FDLE’s publication of the arrest record is a violation of a Florida statute requiring that minors’ misdemeanor records be kept confidential. The suit also seeks a writ of prohibition preventing the agency from publishing or selling the record... The Miami-Dade public defender’s office has drafted legislation to block publication of juvenile misdemeanor records. Carlos Martinez, the chief assistant public defender in Miami, said FDLE’s practice of posting juvenile arrest records on their Web site and selling them for $23 is in conflict with Florida law. 01/08/07
Crusading for confidentiality [Subscription is required, although you can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial subscription.] Excerpt: Cathy Corry of Tampa heard that a young relative had been turned down for a job after an employer ran a background check and came across the family member’s juvenile misdemeanor arrest years earlier. Corry searched through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s online public records data base three years ago and quickly found other misdemeanor records of juveniles. One record she found listed the criminal history of a boy who had been convicted of shoplifting at 13 and presenting false identification to police when he was 14... For a $23 initial charge, plus $8 for each additional search, anyone can peruse the criminal history data base maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (www.fdle.state.fl.us/CriminalHistory) and buy a copy of an individual’s state criminal record. Searching on a name, or keying in a racial group, age or gender selection, you can mine a lot of data about people charged as juveniles with minor offenses. A quick search of the FDLE data base by the Daily Business Review turned up records for a 14-year-old from Jacksonville charged with two misdemeanors. Critics including Carlos Martinez, Miami-Dade County’s chief assistant public defender, say the public disclosure of juvenile misdemeanor records is wrong and should be stopped. They say it’s another example of the growing problem of juveniles and adults being stigmatized by the online posting of their criminal records... 01/05/07
Anderson death on McNeil's mind Excerpts: Tallahassee Police Chief Walt McNeil takes the reins of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice as the agency recovers from last year's death of a 14-year-old in a juvenile boot camp. Though McNeil said Thursday he hadn't read any reports on the case, he did watch the video of Martin Lee Anderson being hit by drill instructors. ''A life was lost and that's something tragic, especially when it's a child in a custody situation,'' McNeil said. ''We want to prevent those type of occurrences from happening again"... Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Anderson's parents in a civil suit against the state and the drill instructors involved, said news of McNeil's appointment was encouraging... Crump also said McNeil was supportive to Anderson's parents during a rally to encourage charges against the drill instructors seen on the videotape... Gov. Charlie Crist didn't say he thought of the Anderson ordeal when considering McNeil for the job, but... ''I couldn't think of a better person to bring in regardless of circumstances.''
01/04/07
Tallahassee police chief to take over troubled juvenile justice agency
Excerpts: TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist has tapped a Tallahassee police veteran to take over the state agency responsible for handling kids who break the law. Crist announced today that he is appointing Walt McNeil, who has been the Tallahassee police chief for nine years, as the next secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice... Former Rep. Gus Barreiro, a Miami Beach Republican who led the charge to shut down the juvenile boot camps after Anderson's death, had interviewed for the Department of Juvenile Justice job. Barreiro said Thursday that he supported Crist's decision. ''I know he has a fine reputation and he's a stand up guy,'' Barreiro said of McNeil. "To me, I have been honored by all the support I received, but at the end of the day it's his call. I support his decision.''...
12/30/06
Ex-boot-camp guard: We tried to help boy Staff and Wire Reports. Orlando Sentinel. Excerpts: PANAMA CITY -- A former juvenile boot-camp guard charged in the death of a 14-year-old boy says he and other camp guards rushed to help the teen when they realized he was in trouble. Charles Helms is among seven guards seen kneeing, hitting and kicking Martin Lee Anderson on a video surveillance tape from the Bay County Juvenile Boot Camp on Jan. 5. Martin died early the next morning. Speaking to ABC's 20/20 in a segment about video surveillance that aired Friday night, Helms said he and the other guards thought Martin was "faking it" when the teen first stopped participating in group exercises… The men were "trying to see if the kid was faking it, feigning illness, which happens quite often with a new kid coming into the program, because a lot of these kids are used to manipulating people and the system," he said… "We did not disregard the fact that he was in trouble as soon as it was recognized. We changed hats and went to a rescue mode," he said... Meanwhile Friday, Juvenile Justice Secretary Anthony Schembri announced his departure… A spokeswoman for Crist said she could not comment on whether the decision to accept Schembri's resignation signaled a different direction for the department.
12/30/06
Juvenile justice chief to step down Tuesday Excerpts: Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Anthony Schembri will leave his position Tuesday, a spokeswoman confirmed Friday. Schembri had hoped to stay in his job and donated to the campaign of incoming Gov. Charlie Crist. But he was widely criticized for his handling of the case of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, who died after being kicked and hit by guards at a Panama City boot camp a year ago.
12/05/06
A bit of justice [Re: 8 charged in teen's boot
camp death Nov. 29] Justice for Martin Lee Anderson has finally begun with manslaughter charges levied against seven good ol' boys and one good ol' girl of the Bay County Sheriff's Office juvenile boot camp. These arrests are also a bit of justice for the countless silent victims of juvenile boot camp abuse who have been threatened to keep quiet, but who carry physical and emotional scars forever. I wonder how many children were abused over the years by the nurse and guards before the tragic death of Anderson. Observing the video of Anderson being battered, this was "just another day" and seemed routine treatment of the children in their "care." These "professionals" were obligated morally and ethically to provide essential care, and they were also obligated legally. Our society is in great despair when we have lawless law enforcement. Cathy Corry, president, justice4kids.org, Clearwater
11/29/06
8 charged in teen's boot camp death Excerpts: Seven guards and a nurse at a Panama City boot camp were charged Tuesday in the death of Martin Lee Anderson… Each faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter on a child, punishable by as much as 30 years in prison if convicted…. "This conduct cannot and will not be tolerated in our society, and none of us are above the law," Ober said in Tallahassee… "We hope at the end of the day justice will be served," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed Ober as special prosecutor after concerns arose about the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's review of the death… The case has ruined the life of one of the accused, Lt. Charles Helms Jr., according to his attorney, Waylon Graham… "He's been vilified, and that's what's crushing him… If anyone is to blame, it's the nurse, Graham said. Kristin Schmidt told guards the teen faked his illness… The guards waited to call 911 at the nurse's advice, he said… "When I first saw the video, I knew it wasn't simply a kid collapsing on a field," former state Rep. Gus Barreiro said Tuesday. "No criminal charges or convictions will ever bring this young man back. But people who work with kids ... have to understand that if you mistreat a child you will be held accountable."… Ober said the guards and nurse caused the death by culpable negligence, failing to provide Anderson "with the care, supervision or services necessary to maintain his physical or mental health that a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of a child, or by failure to make a reasonable effort to protect (him) from abuse, neglect or exploitation by another person." In addition to Schmidt… and Helms, the other defendants were identified as Henry Dickens, Charles Enfinger, Patrick Garrett, Raymond Hauck, Henry McFadden Jr., and Joseph Walsh II. The guards appeared Tuesday before Bay County Judge Elijah Smiley and were released on $25,000 bail each. Arraignment is set for Jan. 18. Schmidt planned to turn herself in later Tuesday…. Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen called the investigation lengthy, complex and intense. He emphasized Ober's findings that no coverup existed, but he said nothing in defense of the guards and nurse…. Jim White, the attorney for Hauck, said he hopes the Sheriff's Office will stand behind the camp guards. "Sure (Hauck) thought he was doing the exactly right thing," White said. "I think that all the things he did would have been in keeping with Sheriff's Office policy."… Ober's investigation did not find evidence of a conspiracy… Dr. Charles Siebert, the medical examiner who performed the original autopsy, acted under "good faith belief”… "Tunnell's personal relationship ... did not affect the work of the FDLE investigations," Ober wrote in a letter to Bush. And Bay County State Attorney Steve Meadows "did not attempt to hide information pertinent to the investigation" by deleting e-mails on the case, Ober concluded…
11/28/06
Sheriff McKeithen Issues
Statement
11/28/06
7 guards, nurse charged in boot camp death Excerpts: Seven guards and a nurse at a juvenile boot camp here were charged with manslaughter this morning in the death of a teenager earlier this year. Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died hours after guards were videotaped manhandling him on Jan. 5 after he collapsed during a forced run. One autopsy determined he was suffocated by the ammonia capsules shoved up his nose. He had arrived at the Bay County Boot Camp earlier that morning. The charges -- aggravated manslaughter against a child, which carries a maximum 30-year prison term -- were announced by Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, who was named as a special prosecutor to investigate the case by Gov. Jeb Bush. . . Those charged today were identified as drill instructors Henry McFadden, Charles Enfinger, Patrick Garrett, Joseph Walsh, Henry Dickens, Charles Helms and Raymond Hauck and nurse Kristin Schmidt.
11/28/06
Eight charged in Anderson case Excerpt: Seven guards and a nurse have been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old boy who died in January a day after he entered a Bay County juvenile boot camp. State Attorney Mark Ober, special prosecutor in the case, today announced the charges against the seven, who are being arrested this morning. Charged are Henry Dickens, Charles Enfinger, Patrick Garrett, Raymond Hauck, Charles Helms Jr., Henry McFadden Jr., Kristin Schmidt and Joseph Walsh II, according to a filing Ober made today in state circuit court in Bay County. Ober's charges said in part the defendants, "did cause the death of Martin Lee Anderson by culpable negligence, without lawful justification or excuse, by neglecting Martin Lee Anderson by failure or omission to provide Martin Lee Anderson with care, supervision or services necessary to maintain his physical or mental health ..." Anderson died Jan. 6, a day after he was hit, kicked and kneed by guards at the boot camp in an incident captured on videotape... Anthony Schembri, secretary for the Department of Juvenile Justice, said the investigation has been conducted appropriately, though he had not yet seen the charges Ober brought. " It's always sad when police officers break the law or bend the rules. But I think we need to look at our own ethics. We need to be a policeman in charge of our own ethics and we're not getting paid to abuse people."
11/28/06
Audit knocks juvenile centers Excerpts: |