Aaron Swartz saw it all - live and in person. He saw the "screaming guards. The pressure points. The knee takedowns. The acrid ammonia stick shoved in the face of a rubber-legged 14-year-old named Martin Lee Anderson."
''They killed that boy. They didn't help him. They beat him,'' Aaron, also 14, told The Miami Herald.
Like Martin's family, Aaron thinks there's a coverup. He believes he overheard one guard repeatedly talking of ''revising'' and changing a report or reports, but he doesn't know which ones. He said around 6 p.m. on Jan. 6 a camp counselor told the boys Martin had died of natural causes -- only about two hours after Dr. Charles Siebert finished the autopsy.
Martin Anderson was the fifth kid to die in Florida state custody in the past three years.
The first article below is from the Tallahassee Democrat. The second is from the student newspaper at Florida A and M.
Students stage sit-in at Capitol
Local college students, dissatisfied with Gov. Jeb Bush's response to their demands for justice on behalf of Martin Lee Anderson, spent the night camped outside the governor's office.
"We're staying until we feel the appropriate attention and focus and priority is brought to this issue," said Raymon Alexander, president of the Florida A&M University student body.
The students - from FAMU, Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College - rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday morning and asked for a meeting with the governor. He met with four representatives of the group - including FSU student body President Gabriel Pendas and Alexander - for about 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
The students made seven demands: a public apology; a change in venue from Bay County for any trial; release of the second autopsy report; arrest of the guards; a civil suit against the Bay County Sheriff's Office and FDLE; removal of Dr. Charles Siebert as medical examiner in Bay County and removal of the boot-camp nurse.
Alexander described the talk with Bush as political.
"Enough effort has not been committed toward this case," Alexander said.
The students wanted a public discussion with Bush, but the governor declined and would only speak with them privately. Alexander said Bush explained his limitations to them.
"But it's absolutely not good enough," Alexander said. "The governor has used his bully pulpit on many issues. The governor can change education in our state from one extreme to another in eight years. Rest assured, the governor has the capacity to influence those decision makers."
Bush is supposed to meet with Anderson's parents today. However, state Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, was adamant that Bush told him he will issue an apology. The governor's spokesman could not confirm the apology, but did confirm a meeting with Anderson's parents today.
A spokesman for the governor said Bush was concerned about the erased e-mails by State Attorney Steve Meadows. Meadows denied trying to hide anything related to Anderson's death.
Anderson, 14, died after an incident at the Bay County boot camp where he was restrained, hit and kneed on Jan. 5. He died Jan. 6 at a hospital in Pensacola. He was sent to the camp for a probation violation.
The incident was caught on the camp's videotape.
As the students settled in on the first floor of the Capitol on Wednesday, about 50 more students gathered in the courtyard in a show of support. Many pressed their faces against the glass to see what was happening inside.
The 35 or so students inside the Capitol dressed in suits and ties, and those outside wore Band-Aids and marched carrying placards and signs stating "Justice for Martin," "Know justice, know peace. No justice, no peace," and "If it had been your child."
Rep. Curtis Richardson, D-Tallahassee, commended the students on the sit-in and for putting pressure on Bush.
Richardson said Bush is being "conspicuously silent on the issue."
Vanessa Baden, a 20-year-old junior at FSU, said Bush did not empathize with the Anderson family.
"That could have been us," Baden said. "I'm holding (Bush) accountable for what we elected him for."
Danyell Shackelford, a 21-year-old sophomore at TCC, shared the same sentiments.
"We are holding Governor Bush accountable for the state-sponsored cover-up," she said.
Capitol police told the group that anyone who left would not be allowed back in. Media who left were not being allowed back in, either.
Only employees and legislators had access after the building was closed at its normal time of 5:30 p.m.
Between a half-dozen and dozen legislators stopped by Wednesday to show their support, bringing chairs for the students and offering to bring in food.
Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, didn't debate whether the students should continue their protest, but she did say that she was pleased with the governor's actions so far.
"To me the governor has gone over and beyond his duty in this case," she said. She is frustrated by the delay in the second autopsy report and the investigation.
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March organized for justice in camp beating
Florida A&M University students, along with students from Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College, will come together Friday to rally for justice for the death of Martin Lee Anderson.
The 14-year-old died Jan. 6 at a Bay County Department of Juvenile Justice boot camp after suffering from repeated blows and kicks from boot camp officers. The entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras located on the outside of the boot camp facility.
The rally will begin at 9 a.m., where students from all of the campuses will meet at the Donald L. Tucker Center will march to the Capitol for the rally.
The protest and rally are expected to last until noon.
Legislators and lawyers from around the state of Florida have come together to raise awareness regarding this issue. The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and members from Parks & Crump, the law firm representing the family, are among those scheduled to speak at the rally.
Other prominent figures expected to attend include Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, former TLC member, and Afeni Shakur, mother of slain rapper Tupac Shakur.
The rally was planned by students from all three participating schools.
"(FAMU) has been working hard with Florida State and TCC to
ensure that we have an effective rally," said Philip Agnew, student body vice president. "All of our campus leaders have come together to make this work."
Agnew, along with the other campus leaders, met during the past two weeks to finalize plans for Friday's event. The most important thing Agnew stresses is to show support for the cause. "Many people believe that there is no point of marching,
but they have to remember that marching got us where we are today," he said.
Joshua Moore, 21, a senior biology student from Miami, said, "Society too often focuses on individual events, rather than what the fight is really about." Moore said the issue is more than skin deep. "This is a movement for justice, not about race. We need to let (the government) know that we are not going to stop until justice is served."
Moore is urging people to come out and support the rally in any way possible. "We have tables set up at TCC, FAMU, and FSU about the march on Friday. Just stop by a table and fill out a pledge card. You can help volunteer by donating your time to this magnificent cause; we are accepting monetary donations as well."
Volunteers will be carrying signs and banners, and passing out informational pamphlets to those who attend the rally.
"The key goal is to send a powerful message to the government," Agnew said. "We want to show (the government) that a great majority of students and citizens are opposed to what the government is doing in regards to this situation."
In the past four years, five boys have died because of internal complications after being enrolled in these camps. Three of these young men were black, and two were white. "The government is the perpetrators of this crime. They are the ones that are obstructing justice. We are here to let them know that this will not be tolerated," Agnew said.
Anderson entered the Bay County juvenile boot camp Jan. 5. A couple of hours after his arrival he was sent away in an ambulance. The first autopsy report on Anderson performed by Charles Seibert, a medical examiner, showed that Anderson died of a complication of a sickle cell anemia trait.
A second autopsy revealed there was no way that Anderson could have died from natural causes related to a sickle cell trait.
ensure that we have an effective rally," said Philip Agnew, student body vice president. "All of our campus leaders have come together to make this work."
Agnew, along with the other campus leaders, met during the past two weeks to finalize plans for Friday's event. The most important thing Agnew stressed was support for the cause. "Many people believe that there is no point of marching, but they have to remember that marching got us where we are today," he said.
Joshua Moore, 21, a senior biology student from Miami, said, "Society too often focuses on individual events, rather than what the fight is really about." Moore said the issue is more than skin deep. "We need to let (the government) know that we are not going to stop until justice is served."
Moore is urging people to come out and support the rally in any way possible. "We have tables set up at TCC, FAMU and FSU about the march on Friday. You can help volunteer by donating your time to this magnificent cause; we are accepting monetary donations as well," he said.
Volunteers will be carrying signs and banners, and passing out informational pamphlets to those who attend the rally.
"We want to show (the government) that a great majority of students and citizens are opposed to what the government is doing in regards to this situation," Agnew said.
In the past four years, five boys have died because of internal complications after being enrolled in these camps. "The government is the perpetrators of this crime. They are the ones that are obstructing justice. We are here to let them know that this will not be tolerated," Agnew said.
Anderson entered the Bay County juvenile boot camp Jan. 5. A couple of hours after his arrival he was sent away in an ambulance. The first autopsy report on Anderson performed by Charles Seibert, a medical examiner, showed that Anderson died of a complication of a sickle cell anemia trait.
A second autopsy revealed there was no way that Anderson could have died from natural causes related to a sickle cell trait.
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