2008
07/26/08
State report faults Collier deputy in boy’s beating in Juvenile Center
Aisling Swift. Naples News.
A state investigation into a 14-year-old Immokalee boy’s assault by two
teens at the Collier County Juvenile Assessment Center reveals that a
sheriff’s deputy didn’t conduct required 10-minute cell checks and then
falsified forms to show he did.
The Department of Juvenile Justice investigation also revealed that
10-minute check forms involving the unnamed victim, whose assault was
videotaped by surveillance cameras, have disappeared, leaving only the forms
about his attackers.
The 19-page investigative report shows Deputy Shadrick McCausland didn’t
conduct the required 10-minute checks for 58 minutes, then filled out forms
showing he had checked on Joshua Richard Tirado, 17, of 4348 9th Place S.W.,
Golden Gate, and Tyler “T-Boy” Joseph Murphy, 15, of 5100 19th Ave. S.W.,
Golden Gate.
“Deputy McCausland is required to ensure the safety and security of the
staff and youth in the assessment center,” the report says. “On the shift
this night in question, it is confirmed through security camera surveillance
(that) Deputy McCausland did not perform his required duties.”
The report says the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, which McCausland was
assigned to, usually is staffed by one detention officer who also screens
those entering the detention center, at the Collier government complex at
U.S. 41 and Airport-Pulling Road.
“They have many duties that do not allow time to simply watch the
security monitor for eight straight hours per shift,” the report says.
An initial report by sheriff’s Cpl. Dave Shreeve said the repeated
assaults occurred between 11:37 p.m. May 14 and 12:46 a.m. May 15, when the
teens slapped, kicked and pushed the 14-year-old and forced him to lick the
floor after they appeared to urinate or spit on it.
His report said the younger boy also was forced to slap himself until he
bled and to wash his face in the toilet and lick the toilet several times.
The report said all those allegations couldn’t be confirmed due to the
poor quality of the videotapes, the camera’s angle and the boys obstructing
some actions.
About 40 seconds of the 69-minute taped incident wasn’t seen because one
teen covered the camera with his shirt. Officials initially believed the
victim could have been sexually assaulted, but he denied it.
After the attack, reports say, he was defecating in his pants and blamed
it on the assault. Investigators, however, couldn’t confirm whether he had a
pre-existing medical condition because his family hired an attorney and
communications with the family halted.
The Daily News obtained the 19-page report under the state public records
law.
For nearly one hour and 43 minutes, the investigation shows, McCausland
conducted five visual inspections, when the minimum required is 10.
The report says McCausland hired an attorney, so he wasn’t available for
questioning by investigators.
He was transferred out of the juvenile center, the report says, and is
undergoing an internal affairs investigation by the Collier Sheriff’s
Office. Sgt. Gus Santos, the sheriff’s lead Internal Affairs investigator,
also determined McCausland falsified forms and didn’t conduct the required
checks, the report says.
The Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t comment.
“We have an active internal investigation into that matter and therefore
we can’t comment on it at this time,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Michelle Batten
said.
Juvenile Justice operates the center, but the Sheriff’s Office is under
contract to oversee juvenile and staff safety, patrol the cells and watch a
video monitor.
The report says a Juvenile Justice employee, Meghan Marino, a probation
officer in the screening unit, didn’t report the incident to the proper
authorities within two hours, as required.
She was ordered to undergo further training.
“It was a matter of hours and she was retrained and counseled,” Juvenile
Justice spokeswoman Samadhi Jones said. “Apparently, she was unclear on
that.”
State officials also were notified about the matter by Collier County
Judge Mike Carr, who sent a letter May 19 to State Attorney General Bill
McCollum, urging an investigation.
Both boys were charged with battery in the boy’s attack, and Tirado, now
18, is being prosecuted as an adult. He also is charged with felony
resisting arrest after a deputy was forced to use a Taser to subdue him.
During an initial hearing on the boys’ battery charges, Carr angrily
questioned how the attack could occur.
“As loathsome as the conduct that’s alleged by the juvenile, the fact
that authorities that are getting paid by the taxpayers, the citizens of
Florida, to protect the juveniles in custody apparently are unwilling or
unable to do their jobs is of grave concern to the court,” Carr said during
the hearing.
“This is disgusting. It is loathsome. It is unacceptable,” Carr said.
Reports say Tirado is a serious habitual offender who has undergone two
residential treatment programs and has a history of juvenile delinquency
dating to 2003. Murphy, now 16, is a gang member who was on probation for a
felony, according to the report.
Michael Schneider, Tirado’s defense attorney, said he was told his client
was the least culpable.
The report says Tirado told investigators he’d been under the influence
of marijuana when the incident occurred and didn’t remember anything.
“The other defendant was the leader and my client was the follower,”
Schneider said.
The report, however, says Tirado was the primary perpetrator, so the
other youth wasn’t charged as an adult. The assaulted boy told investigators
the one without the shirt was the main aggressor; which teen that was is
deleted from the report.
A detention center employee, Norma Collymore, first noticed something was
wrong when she saw the younger boy crying after defecating on himself. The
report says he cried as he described what had happened, telling
investigators he was forced to follow the boys’ orders and was assaulted.
Collymore sent him to the medical unit, where he was examined, and he was
taken to a Naples hospital on May 17. In addition to medical care, and
treatment at the hospital’s emergency room, the boy was given crisis
counseling by a licensed social worker and was released to his mother’s
custody on May 18.
Investigators slowed down the videotape — which is “not of superior
quality” and doesn’t provide audio — to a per-second time-lapse to determine
what occurred. But they couldn’t verify all the boy’s allegations and said a
boy seen doing pushups wouldn’t be considered unusual and wouldn’t prompt a
check.
Each cell has a camera attached to the 10-foot-high ceiling, and the
report says investigators looked at videos from two camera angles.
Videos show the teens aggressively kicking the younger boy while he did
pushups and the younger boy “is seen recoiling from the contact of the kicks
and, it can then be surmised, from the pain caused by the kicks.”
McCausland is seen standing at the window to the boys’ cell for 56
seconds and accurately writes that check on one boy’s form, but not the
other, the report says, noting that McCausland returns about two minutes
later and appears to talk to one boy before leaving.
The report calls that “significant,” pointing out he didn’t return until
58 minutes, 13 seconds later, when he unlocked the cell door to allow the
victim and one of the others to be interviewed and screened by staff.
The report says it’s not possible to determine if the victim was forced
to lick urine or spit from the floor, noting, “The youth victim’s body does
come into contact with the floor during push-ups, but it cannot be
determined from the video if he licks the floor.”
It says one youth is seen urinating, but it’s unclear if it’s into a
toilet or the floor.
“It is also difficult to determine if the youth victim slaps himself as
he alleges the youth subjects made him do,” the report says, citing the poor
quality of the tape and noting that one youth sometimes obstructs the
camera’s view.
The report says detention officers were unaware of any problems to report
to McCausland.
“There was no mention of the security camera in room 209 losing video, no
mention of a youth placing his head in the toilet and no mention of the
youth being kicked by the youth subjects while he performed pushups,” the
report says.
“Hence, since the (juvenile detention officer) working the master control
position did not observe and record any unusual behaviors from holding area
room 209, there was no call to alert the deputy working ... to investigate
suspicious behavior.”
Other articles|top
06/27/08
DJJ fires “Nurse Jane”: She expected us to
care about the kids; to be honorable, says the department
Special to Appropriated Press.
Excerpt:
TALLAHASSEE --Providers who put profits before kids must be rejoicing
today. DJJ executives have removed yet another employee who saw too much as
she did her job too well, a person who advocated for the kids and refused to
"go with the flow" of the currents of corruption in DJJ. They have fired my
friend and mentor, Nurse Jane, the Registered Nurse Consultant who worked in
QA, after 4 years of continuous harrassment and retaliation against her,
following her testimony in the Omar Paisley case...
top
06/26/08
Nurse to plead guilty in death at juvenile lockup
Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald.
A nurse who treated youths at Miami's juvenile lockup will plead guilty
to culpable negligence in the death of 17-year-old Omar Paisley five years
ago, ending one of the most tragic chapters in the history of Florida's
long-troubled juvenile justice program.
Dianne Demeritte, who was employed by Miami Children's Hospital but
worked under contract at the Miami Juvenile Detention Center, will be
adjudicated guilty and serve one year of probation, according to a plea
agreement released Thursday by a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade courts.
Demeritte ''further agrees that she will voluntarily relinquish her
license to practice nursing, that she will never practice nursing again, and
that she will never provide patient care to anyone outside of her own
family,'' says a letter signed by Assistant State Attorney Reid Rubin, who
prosecuted the case.
''Further, it is our understanding that Ms. Demeritte will apologize to
the family of Omar Paisley,'' the letter says.
Prosecutors have dropped charges against a second nurse, Gaile Loperfido,
who like Demeritte was originally charged with manslaughter and third-degree
murder, a courts spokeswoman, Eunice Sigler, wrote in a release.
Detained at the lockup on a battery charge, Omar begged officers and
nurses for medical help for three days before he finally succumbed June 9,
2003 to a ruptured appendix -- a death the family's attorneys described as
``agonizing but entirely preventable.''
For much of the next year, Omar's case came to symbolize a host of
failings at Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice. At legislative
hearings across the state prompted by stories in The Miami Herald, DJJ
employees and critics alike described what lawmakers called a ''culture of
neglect'' at the agency.
Six months after the teen's death, a Miami-Dade grand jury issued a
scathing 50-page report, decrying ''the utter lack of humanity
demonstrated'' by officers at the 226-bed lockup, at 3300 NW 27th Ave. in
Miami. As the presentment was handed to a judge, the grand jury's forewoman
dabbed tears from her eyes and softly wept.
Following the scandal, about 25 DJJ officials left the agency, including
former Secretary W.G. ''Bill'' Bankhead -- who later died -- two of his top
assistants, the lockup's superintendent and the assistant superintendent.
06/27/08
Plea deal for juvenile center nurse in teen death. AP, Miami Herald.
06/27/07
Plea deal for juvenile center nurse in teen death. AP, Tallahassee
Democrat.
top
06/21/08
Cuts force Florida's last youth boot camp to close
Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel.
Budget cuts are forcing the only remaining youth boot camp in Florida to
close at the end of the month, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said Friday.
The Sheriff's Training and Respect program, known as STAR, started in
1994. In February, the state cut its $4.4 million budget to $2.5 million,
forcing the downsizing of the program and the elimination of 38 jobs. At its
height in October 1998, STAR had 110 beds, sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood
said.
On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice announced another
50 percent would be cut from the budget -- a 72 percent reduction in one
year.
The remaining 30 STAR employees will be transferred into other positions
at the Sheriff's Office. It's up to the state Department of Juvenile Justice
to find places for the 10 boys still at the boot camp, Wood said.
"Obviously, we can't sustain a program with only 72 percent of the
original budget," she said.
In September, Gov. Charlie Crist recommended that the state abolish STAR,
which replaced youth boot camps mired in controversy after the January 2006
beating death of Martin Lee Anderson, 14, at a Panama City boot camp.
Legislators created STAR in June 2006.
In October, seven former guards and a nurse were acquitted of
manslaughter in Martin's death, sparking outrage.
STAR emphasizes education, vocational training and volunteerism and
provides counseling to youths and their families. Community-service projects
range from growing plants for nearby parks to raising fish and harvesting
vegetables to give to halfway houses and civic clubs.
Chip Thullbery, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office in Polk
County, said the program gave boys a chance for a better life and an
opportunity to avoid going farther in the criminal-justice system.
"I think it's a shame," Thullbery said of the closing. "I think it did
serve a purpose."
Susan Jacobson can be reached at 407-540-5981 or
sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com.
More on boot camps |
top
06/17/08
Off-the-cuff compromise [shackles]
Palm Beach Post Editorial
A federal judge in December refused to force Palm Beach County's juvenile
court judges to remove leg irons, waist chains and handcuffs from the kids
brought into their courtrooms.
But in throwing out the lawsuit filed by the county's public defender,
U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks urged a compromise to the
"disturbing" sight of juveniles of various ages and various criminal charges
shackled together in court.
The four county juvenile court judges have agreed to a change that
preserves courtroom security and treats juveniles accused of crimes
humanely. Legs will stay chained, to help prevent escapes, but most teens
will appear without handcuffs.
Public Defender Carey Haughwout, one of several public defenders
throughout the state who opposed chaining children in courtroom hearings as
psychologically abusive, called the new policy a "vast improvement."
The shackles are used by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in
transporting juveniles from detention centers to courthouses. In the
courtroom, they were not impractical: Large groups of teens often are
brought into a courtroom at once, and some teens in the past have overturned
tables and tried to run out of the courtroom. Nor are the shackled teens
facing juries, who could judge a juvenile more harshly based on his
appearance as a shackled criminal.
The compromise keeps teens who have misbehaved in court in handcuffs, and
allows for handcuffs during detention hearings when several teens appear at
the same time.
Security had to remain the judges' priority. The new policy maintains
safety without sacrificing the teens' humanity.
top
06/12/08
Teacher charged with punching juvenile
Robert Napper (rnapper@bradenton.com).
Bradenton Herald.
MANATEE --Authorities say a Manatee County School District substitute
teacher was arrested on a charge he punched a 15-year-old boy in the face
inside a state juvenile detention facility.
Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Wanick Damour, 31, at
his Wimauma home Tuesday night on a charge of child abuse.
Damour was working as a substitute teacher at a Florida Department of
Juvenile Justice detention center near the Manatee County jail when he
struck an inmate in a drug treatment program there, according to DOJJ
officials.
Another teacher and case worker told detectives they saw Damour punch the
boy. Surveillance video in the detention center also captured the beating
that cut the boy's lip, causing him to need two stitches, according to a
sheriff's report.
Damour told sheriff's detectives he hit the boy because he feared for his
safety.
He said "he has had nothing but trouble from the victim since he started
working at the facility in April of this year," the sheriff's report stated.
DOJJ spokesman Frank Panela said the state contracts with a security
company, G4S Youth Services, to operate and provide security at the
detention center.
G4S spokesman Mike Powers said the company hires all of its teachers for
its programs but contracts with local school districts to provide substitute
teachers when needed.
"As far I know, we obtained him from the school board there," Powers
said.
School officials Wednesday confirmed Damour was on the district's
substitute list.
Panela said Damour, who was being held in the Manatee County jail on
$10,000 bond, has been removed from teaching at the program and would not be
allowed back into the facility.
DOJJ officials will also be conducting a full investigation into the
incident, Panela said.
"We don't tolerate this kind of behavior at all," he said.
top
06/11/08
Juveniles in court losing handcuffs - but will stay shackled
Kathleen Chapman. Palm Beach Post.
WEST PALM BEACH — Juvenile court judges have agreed on a compromise
solution to the controversy over whether teens should appear for court in
shackles.
All four judges in Palm Beach County Circuit Court will allow teens to
attend some hearings without handcuffs. But teens' legs will stay chained,
said Juvenile Court Judge Peter Blanc, because "if one of them chooses to
take off, it might be harder for an older guard to catch up."
To prevent escapes, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has a
statewide policy of transporting the teens from juvenile detention centers
to the courthouse in leg irons and handcuffs fastened to waist chains.
With up to 25 teens brought into a courtroom at once, judges across the
state typically let the teens continue wearing restraints for court
hearings. But in 2006, public defenders in several counties protested the
practice, saying it was psychologically abusive to chain children in the
courtroom without considering their age, alleged crime or past behavior.
Palm Beach County Public Defender Carey Haughwout filed suit to stop
shackling of juveniles, but lost. Local judges initially balked at her
request, saying they had seen fewer teens flipping over tables or bolting
for the door since the state began its policy of shackling juveniles several
years ago.
But about six months ago, Blanc quietly tried the compromise solution.
Judge Ronald Alvarez followed about six weeks ago, and Judge Karen Martin
sent a memo saying she would adopt the same policy beginning this month.
Judge Moses Baker will also allow the change.
Teens who have been a problem in the past can still stay in handcuffs.
And juveniles will continue to wear handcuffs in detention hearings, where
large groups of teens make courtroom security more difficult.
Blanc said there have been no security problems so far. One teen in his
courtroom even asked if he could keep the handcuffs on, Blanc said, because
the teen was upset and knew he might not be able to control himself.
Haughwout said she believes the change is a "vast improvement."
"And I am comfortable with doing this for a while and then seeing how we
feel about trying to go forward with regards to the leg irons," she said.
top
05/21/08
State, county probing teen’s beating, supervision in Collier juvenile
detention center
Aisling Swift. Naples Daily News.
A 14-year-old boy was beaten by two teens inside the Collier County
Juvenile Assessment Center while surveillance cameras taped the 69-minute
assault that wasn’t spotted by guards required to patrol cells every 10
minutes.
The state Department of Juvenile Justice, which operates the center at
the Collier County Government Complex on U.S. 41, is conducting an
administrative review of the incident, DJJ spokeswoman Samadhi Jones said
Wednesday.
“Based on the findings, the department will take appropriate action,”
Jones said. "... The secretary of DJJ, Secretary (Frank) Peterman, is
adamant about protecting children and DJJ will work with the Collier County
Sheriff's Office to make sure that this doesn't happen again."
Reports say repeated assaults occurred between 11:37 p.m. May 14 and
12:46 a.m. May 15, when two Golden Gate boys, ages 15 and 17, slapped,
kicked and pushed the 14-year-old and forced him to lick the floor after the
suspects appeared to urinate or spit on it. The younger boy also was forced
to slap himself until he bled, reports say, and to wash his face in the
toilet and lick the toilet several times.
At a juvenile detention hearing Saturday, County Judge Mike Carr grew
angry as he read the reports, saying he was sending the suspects’ files to
State Attorney General Bill McCollum for an investigation. Carr, who noted
both boys had violent criminal pasts, characterized their criminal records
as “extensive” in a May 19 letter obtained by the Daily News.
“As loathsome as the conduct that’s alleged by the juvenile, the fact
that authorities that are getting paid by the taxpayers, the citizens of
Florida, to protect the juveniles in custody apparently are unwilling or
unable to do their jobs is of grave concern to the court,” Carr said during
the taped hearing. “I’m going to figure out why, why people in custody here
are being treated in this manner with no safety while they’re in the care of
— in the care of — our authorities.
“This is disgusting. It is loathsome, it is unacceptable,” Carr
continued.
It could not be immediately determined whether the Department of Juvenile
Justice or Collier County Sheriff’s Office employees watch the video
monitors, but Sheriff’s Office employees are in charge of patrolling the
cells every 10 minutes and writing their observations in a logbook.
“We’re trying to find out what happened and how it came to happen,” said
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karie Partington. “Everybody is looking at this
situation.
“The camera was covered for about 30 seconds,” she said, adding that the
boy was questioned about whether anything sexual occurred while it was
covered and he denied it.
She said the log books, and whether checks were recorded during that
period, would be part of the investigation. By law, faking those records
could result in criminal charges of falsification of public records.
Joshua Richard Tirado, 17, of 4348 19th Place SW, Golden Gate, is charged
with battery by a person detained in jail and resisting arrest, and Tyler
“T-Boy” Joseph Murphy, now 16, of 5100 19th Ave. SW, Golden Gate, is charged
with battery with a prior conviction or second offense, according to a
sheriff’s report.
Because the investigation is continuing into what was videotaped or
concealed, the victim’s name is being withheld by the Daily News. A
sheriff’s report by Cpl. Dave Shreeve provides this account:
A juvenile detainee told him the two juveniles in a holding cell with him
said they would hit him if he didn’t do what they said. He said they made
him lick the floor and toilet, hit him in the face “a couple of times” and
made him do push-ups. He said the main aggressor was the teen who took off
his shirt. He wanted to press charges and provided a sworn statement.
Shreeve identified Murphy as a juvenile being held for a violation of
probation, while Tirado was released to a parent or guardian shortly after
the incident — only to be picked up after this investigation.
Shreeve then reviewed the video tape, which showed the two juveniles
committing battery “on several occasions” by slapping, kicking and pushing
the younger boy in the holding cell. Another investigator is reviewing
possible additional charges due to what the video showed. However, the
victim denied any sexual contact while the camera was covered by one boy’s
T-shirt.
Deputies located Tirado and his father brought him in. Tirado became
agitated, made fists, tensed, refused to cooperate and appeared to be ready
to swing at deputies, reports say. When he moved his feet, as if to start a
fight, Shreeve fired a Taser at his chest and torso, causing the teen to hit
the ground.
While behind bars, he cursed at his father.
At the hearing, an unidentified juvenile justice intake officer
recommended that Murphy be held for 21 days in secured detention “with
absolutely no contact with the victim.” Carr admonished Tirado for being
hostile and resisting arrest. The judge asked the juvenile justice officer
who monitors the juveniles’ cells about the incident. She was uncertain who
watched the surveillance cameras, but said a county deputy checks cells
every 10 minutes. That angered Carr.
“I hope the local authorities, whoever they may be, find the time in
their busy day to look into this and see this doesn’t occur again and get to
the bottom of how it is possible for someone to be on camera, have the
camera ignored, and have this kind of multiple assault for long periods of
time go on without someone noticing it,” Carr said. “This is disgusting.”
Carr also asked Assistant State Attorney D.J. Miller, the prosecutor,
“what it takes” to charge the juveniles as adults, noting that both have a
“very violent past” and if found guilty, the charges should result in very
long sanctions. Miller said he’d speak to his supervisor, Assistant State
Attorney Mara Marzano. Carr asked him to give her the taped evidence and
added: “I don’t want anything to be missed.”
If prosecuted as adults, the third-degree felonies are punishable by a
maximum of five years in a state prison. The resisting charge is a
first-degree misdemeanor.
top
04/09/08 Too popular, DJJ bans Justice4Kids.org
Special to 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.
top
03/18/08
Barreiro, going to DJJ, scrambles House race
The Buzz, St. Petersburg Times.
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.
top
02/08/08
Savvy chief at child justice
St. Petersburg's Frank Peterman has long advocated children's causes.
Alex Leary and Steve Bousquet. St. Petersburg Times.
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.
top
02/07/08
TYC conservator Nedelkoff to resign from Florida
Emily Ramshaw. The Dallas Morning News
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.}
top
02/06/08
[Florida] Legislators cast wary eye on TYC consulting deals
Mike Ward, American -Statesman
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."
top
02/02/08
More Principal, Less Police
Editorial. St. Petersburg Times.
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."
top
01/20/08
When students are suspects, lines blur
Tom Marshall and Jonathan Abel. St. Petersburg Times.
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"...
top
01/16/08
Juvenile chief to head prisons
Crist cites a personal affinity in picking the former police chief.
By
Steve Bousquet, Tallahassee bureau chief 850 224-7263. St. Petersburg
Times.
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.
top
2007
12/24/07
Give our children a brighter future
Tim Niermann, Chief Probation Officer, Circuit 6 St. Petersburg Times.
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
top
12/24/07
STAR
Academy 'fighting' for funds
Stephen D. Price, Pensacola News Journal.
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."
More on boot camps |
top
11/27/07
Teen sentenced for battering guard
Kate McCardell. Jackson County Floridan.
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
Kate McCardell. Jackson County Floridan.
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.
Florida's juvenile justice chief draws praise. But his degree doesn't.
Steve Bousquet and Ron Matus. St. Petersburg Times.
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.
top
10/21/07
Hastings troubled-youth facility has troubles of its own
Deirdre Conner [deirdre.conner@jacksonville.com
(904) 359-4504]. The Times-Union.
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
top
10/16/07
Boot camp case's final verdict still unwritten
Editorial. St. Petersburg Times.
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…
More on boot camps |
top
10/13/07
All acquitted at boot camp all not guilty at boot camp
Abbie Vansickle; Colleen Jenkins. St. Petersburg Times.
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 ..."
More on boot camps |
top
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…
More on boot camps |
top
10/06/07
Defense attorney, doctor spar on Day 3 of boot camp trial
Abbie Vansickle, Times Staff Writer. St. Petersburg Times.
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.
More on boot camps |
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10/05/07
Anderson trial tells two tales of a town
Sue Carlton. St. Petersburg Times.
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.
More on boot camps |
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10/03/07
Boot-camp-death trial begins today
Stephen D. Price. Tallahassee Democrat.
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.
More on boot camps |
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10/02/07
Martin Lee Anderson's boot camp guards go on trial
Marc Caputo
mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com. Miami Herald.
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…
More on boot camps |
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07/13/07
Doing time for no crime
Arthur Carmona. Los Angeles Times OPINION: OP-ED
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.
###
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06/09/07
Juvenile facilities rated among state's worst
Deirdre Conner, (904) 359-4504. The Times-Union.
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.
top
05/23/07
Anderson family compensated
Marc Caputo. Miami Herald.
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.''
More on boot camps |
top
05/01/07
State refuses to step into juvenile justice fray
Will Van Sant (445-4166). St. Petersburg Times.
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."
top
04/30/07 Strife erodes a voice for kids
Will Van Sant (445-4166). St. Petersburg Times.
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."
top
04/28/07
Imprisoned since 13, an adult Justin Caldwell remains walled in
Kate McCardell. Jackson County Floridan.
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
Polk County Democrat.
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.
top
04/21/07
Videotape shows guard choking teenager
Stephanie Garry. Miami Herald.
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
Kate McCardell. Jackson County Floridan.
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
Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse.
WebWire.com.
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
Stephen D. Price. Tallahassee Democrat.
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.]
More news clips on
Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top
04/14/07
DJJ fires 2 after choke hold
Stephanie Garry. Miami Herald.
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.]
More news clips on
Christopher Sholly and Justin Caldwell | top
04/07/07
Boot camp video used in legislative hearing
Alex Leary. St. Petersburg Times.
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."
More on boot camps |
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04/07/07
Weeping parents testify in boot-camp case
Marc Caputo. Miami Herald.
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.''
More on boot camps |
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03/30/07
Fewer troubled children, fewer adult criminals
Editorial. Palm Beach Post.
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.
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03/28/07
Parents awarded $2.4M in death
Alex Leary, Justin George. St. Petersburg Times.
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 again