Jury selection begins in Florida for juvenile boot camp guards accused in teen's death

Seven guards and a nurse are charged with manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Martin Anderson at a Florida boot camp.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — Chanting demonstrators carried photographs of a dead 14-year-old as jury selection began Monday for the manslaughter trial of seven juvenile boot camp guards and a nurse who are charged in his death.
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 to the camp for a probation violation and became lethargic during a physical fitness test shortly after arriving. An exercise yard videotape shows seven guards repeatedly 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.
Anderson was black; white and black guards hit him.
By early afternoon, 80 potential jurors had answered initial courtroom questions and 45 had been approved for additional screening; nearly all said they had seen at least part of the video on television. They were not automatically dismissed if they had seen the video; some were dismissed for knowing the guards or Anderson's family.
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Anderson's parents declined to answer questions from The Associated Press during a brief break in questioning.
More than 1,400 Bay County residents were summoned for jury selection, being held in a makeshift courtroom in a civic center to accommodate the crowd. That is one of every 90 adults in the Florida Panhandle county.
The large number is needed because the case has gotten so much media attention locally. If an impartial panel can't be found, the trial will be moved to another Florida county.
Defense attorney Waylon Graham said he expected to have a jury pool by Tuesday night.
"You are talking about something that has been on TV constantly and on the radio constantly and the governor has meddled in this thing almost from the beginning, but I don't think it will get moved, said Graham, who represents Charles Helms Jr., the ranking camp guard on duty the day Anderson entered the camp.
Prosecutors have declined to answer questions about the case.