Make that 55 bodies found in a bizarre graveyard behind a 100-yr-old reform school

[Locutus]

St. Petersburg, FL - University of South Florida researchers say they've located 55 bodies at the now-closed Dozier School for Boys in the Florida panhandle. That's 24 more than official records indicate.

A team of more than 50 people from nine different agencies are now attempting to identify the remains, as well as determine the cause of death. USF Associate Prof. Dr. Erin Kimmerle says they'll use bone and tooth samples to try and identify the bodies.


"This project has always been about fulfilling a fundamental human right," Kimmerle told reporters on Tuesday morning. "For families who, like all of us, have a right to know what happened to their loved ones and are entitled to bury their relatives in a manner in which they deem proper."


more


24 more bodies found at Dozier School for Boys than official records indicate; total currently stands at 55 | wtsp.com

h/t Fark

 

[Sal]

omg here we go....kids were tortured and killed

wanna lay bets?

 

[JLM]

omg here we go....kids were tortured and killed

wanna lay bets?

And just as important is identifying the nefarious bastards that did this. (Another justified reason for capital punishment)

 

[Sal]

And just as important is identifying the nefarious bastards that did this. (Another justified reason for capital punishment)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, nope can't say I see it that way

I used to believe capital punishment was justified in "certain" "brutal" cases. Now I just don't even go there. I want them to live and die like the rest of us have to.

 

[JLM]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, nope can't say I see it that way

I used to believe capital punishment was justified in "certain" "brutal" cases. Now I just don't even go there. I want them to live and die like the rest of us have to.

I fully agree with you but I don't approve of them living in comfortable facilities and provided with all the luxuries and conveniences, like taking college courses and having access to books and computers and conjugal visits and steak nights etc. etc. etc.

 

[Sal]

I fully agree with you but I don't approve of them living in comfortable facilities and provided with all the luxuries and conveniences, like taking college courses and having access to books and computers and conjugal visits and steak nights etc. etc. etc.

I do.... if you are going to lock someone into a tiny cell for eternity there is only one way to control their behave and that is through perks...good behaviour equals reward...if not, just murder them because you will never control them or get them to cooperate... they will kill guards and kill each other you have given them zero reason to cooperate.

Locking a human being away, removing their freedom is about keeping others safe.

I am not into brutalizing another human being to me it is senseless.

 

[SLM]

St. Petersburg, FL - University of South Florida researchers say they've located 55 bodies at the now-closed Dozier School for Boys in the Florida panhandle. That's 24 more than official records indicate.

A team of more than 50 people from nine different agencies are now attempting to identify the remains, as well as determine the cause of death. USF Associate Prof. Dr. Erin Kimmerle says they'll use bone and tooth samples to try and identify the bodies.


"This project has always been about fulfilling a fundamental human right," Kimmerle told reporters on Tuesday morning. "For families who, like all of us, have a right to know what happened to their loved ones and are entitled to bury their relatives in a manner in which they deem proper."


more


24 more bodies found at Dozier School for Boys than official records indicate; total currently stands at 55 | wtsp.com

h/t Fark

I remember reading about this sometime last year maybe? When they were just getting ready to start digging.

omg here we go....kids were tortured and killed

wanna lay bets?

So they are indeed claiming.

From one of the attached articles:

Owen's story
State records say one boy buried here is 14-year-old Owen Smith.
"He had no ambition to do anything but play music," said his sister Ovell Smith Krell, 84.
She says her older brother ran away from home in 1940 at age 14 to become a musician in Nashville, but never made it. Owen Smith was arrested in a stolen car, and sent to the reform school in Marianna.
He ran away from the school, but got caught, he wrote in a letter to 12-year-old Ovell a short time afterward.
A few months later, his family received a letter from the school, notifying them that Owen had run away for a second time.
"So far, we have been unable to get any information concerning his whereabouts," wrote Millard Davidson, the school's superintendent at the time. "We will appreciate your notifying us immediately if you receive any word from or concerning him."
Owen's family decided to travel to Marianna to find out what was going on, but just before leaving, there was a call from the school with word that Owen had been found dead.
"They think he crawled under a house to try and get warm and that he got pneumonia and died," said Krell.
She said her mother asked that Owen's body be taken to a funeral home. The family had to borrow a car for the trip and when they arrived in Marianna two days later, school officials allegedly told them that their son was already buried.
"They said that the body was so decomposed, you wouldn't be able to identify him ... they took him straight out to the school and buried him," she said.
Owen's classmate told the family a different story.
According to Krell, the boy said as he and Owen tried to escape, "my brother was running out across a field, an open field, and there was three men shooting at him, with rifles."
"I believe to this day, that they shot my brother that night, and I think they probably killed him and brought him back to the school and buried him," she said.

Exhumation begins of bodies buried at former Dozier School for Boys | wtsp.com

 

[Sal]

I remember reading about this sometime last year maybe? When they were just getting ready to start digging.



So they are indeed claiming.

From one of the attached articles:

Exhumation begins of bodies buried at former Dozier School for Boys | wtsp.com

omg, omg, omg

 

[SLM]

omg, omg, omg

Sad of course but is it all that surprising? The time frame given for these disappearances in the one article is the 40s, 50s, 60s.... poor and unwanted kids, abandoned by family, who's going to ask questions?

 

[JLM]

I do.... if you are going to lock someone into a tiny cell for eternity there is only one way to control their behave and that is through perks...good behaviour equals reward...if not, just murder them because you will never control them or get them to cooperate... they will kill guards and kill each other you have given them zero reason to cooperate.

Locking a human being away, removing their freedom is about keeping others safe.

I am not into brutalizing another human being to me it is senseless.

You mean provide them with more freedoms and luxuries than we can provide for most of our elderly and War veterans?

 

[Sal]

You mean provide them with more freedoms and luxuries than we can provide for most of our elderly and War veterans?

First of all, I take issue with the use of "most of our elderly and war vets" I live in a building of mostly elderly...I can only hope that my generation will be able to live that well when we get there...next, if incarceration in a tiny 6 x 8 cell is an ample incentive to relinquish one's freedom so you can have a steak once a year, I say go for it...

And please explain how someone who is incarcerated has more freedoms than someone who is not incarcerated?

 

[JLM]

First of all, I take issue with the use of "most of our elderly and war vets" I live in a building of mostly elderly...I can only hope that my generation will be able to live that well when we get there...next, if incarceration in a tiny 6 x 8 cell is an ample incentive to relinquish one's freedom so you can have a steak once a year, I say go for it...

And please explain how someone who is incarcerated has more freedoms than someone who is not incarcerated?

Just one example which may or may not be anecdotal- If you or I need a major medical procedure or test we are put on a waiting list while these guys go to the front of the line. (Just hearsay of course, but I think there is truth in it)

 

[Sal]

Just one example which may or may not be anecdotal- If you or I need a major medical procedure or test we are put on a waiting list while these guys go to the front of the line. (Just hearsay of course, but I think there is truth in it)

never heard that hearsay before and do not know the facts of the matter JLM so I am not comfortable saying right or wrong before researching...I can't imagine why they would go to the front of the line but they certainly deserve their "place" in line and that wouldn't bother me a bit.

I really don't know how health care works in prison. But it is an interesting topic to consider.

 

[WLDB]

You mean provide them with more freedoms and luxuries than we can provide for most of our elderly and War veterans?

I dont care if they are locked up in a mansion - they still have no freedom and cant leave. Personally I would consider that just as unpleasant as a cell. Maybe not for the first couple weeks or months but there is only so long one can take before the reality of not being able to leave sets in. It doesnt matter how nice a cage is, its still a cage.

Just one example which may or may not be anecdotal- If you or I need a major medical procedure or test we are put on a waiting list while these guys go to the front of the line. (Just hearsay of course, but I think there is truth in it)

Healthcare is provincial and does vary quite a bit from province to province. As do the prisons.

And just as important is identifying the nefarious bastards that did this. (Another justified reason for capital punishment)

If the article is right about the ages of the bones the person responsible is likely dead. If not I hope he or she is caught. If they are alive now they are very old and not likely to be executed. Even if caught, convicted and sentenced to death really, a natural death is usually a hell of a lot more unpleasant than an execution.