Jury Selected For Trial In Death Of Teen At Florida Juvenile Boot Camp

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) _ A jury was selected Wednesday for the trial of seven juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse charged in the death of 14-year-old inmate. <br/><br/>Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet

Wednesday, September 26th 2007, 8:49 pm

By: News On 6

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) _ A jury was selected Wednesday for the trial of seven juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse charged in the death of 14-year-old inmate.

Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet swore in the group of six jurors and four alternates, The News Herald of Panama City reported. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3.

Martin Lee Anderson died in January 2006 after being taken to a hospital from the now-closed Bay County Juvenile Boot Camp. He had been sent there for a probation violation and became lethargic during a physical fitness test shortly after arriving.

An exercise yard videotape shows seven guards hitting the boy with their fists and knees. The camp nurse is accused of watching but doing nothing during most of the 30-minute encounter.

The seven guards and the nurse face as many as 30 years in prison if convicted of aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Overstreet told the jury to avoid media reports involving the case and not to discuss the case with anyone outside the courtroom.

A first autopsy on Anderson, conducted by the Bay County medical examiner, attributed his death to natural complications of a genetic blood disorder. After an outcry from Anderson's family and the public, his body was exhumed and a second autopsy by another doctor found he had suffocated.

The state Legislature dismantled the state's military-style youth boot camps after Anderson's death. The case also led to the resignation of the chief of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The Legislature agreed to pay Anderson's family $5 million this year to settle civil claims.