Students press boot camp issue
A group meets with the Justice Department to gauge how a federal investigation is going.
By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 18, 2007
TAMPA -- The Student Coalition for Justice met Wednesday in Tallahassee with representatives from the Criminal Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department in connection with the Martin Lee Anderson case.
"We want to know where they are in their investigation," said Phillip Agnew, 22, a coalition member and business student at Florida A&M University. "And also, we're trying to find the scope of their investigation. We feel the trial in Bay County did not try a complete list of defendants."
Members of the student coalition marched in the streets of Tallahassee on Friday after they learned a jury had acquitted eight boot camp employees in the teen's death.
Anderson was 14 when he died after a physical confrontation with camp drill instructors.
Seven drill instructors and the camp's nurse faced charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child. A jury found them not guilty Friday morning after deliberating for about 90 minutes.
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the Justice Department issued a statement saying it would review the evidence to determine whether Anderson's civil rights had been violated.
The meeting came the day the NAACP announced a march and rally for Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Tallahassee Federal Courthouse. According to a statement, the NAACP is asking people around the country to come to "The Justice for Martin Lee Anderson March and Rally."
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida could not be reached about Wednesday's meeting with the students.
Reached by cell phone after the meeting, Agnew said the students were pleased with the outcome.
"It was a very informative meeting," he said. "We at this point are leaving it to the Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation."
He said he knew of the NAACP rally and that he might attend, but he added, "Marching and rallying, right now, I don't feel is the most efficient way."
Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3373.