Federal officials will not pursue civil rights violations or other charges against the boot camp guards implicated in the death of a 14-year-old

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Federal officials will not pursue civil rights violations or other charges against the boot camp guards implicated in the death of a 14-year-old who was hit and kicked by the guards while a nurse looked on, the boy’s relatives and their attorney said Friday.Ben Crump, an attorney for the parents of the teen, Martin Lee Anderson, said they were told of the decision during a meeting with representatives of the U.S. Justice Department. The family’s supporters gathered outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee during that meeting.

Anderson died Jan. 6, 2006, a day after being hit and kicked by the guards. A videotape of the 30-minute incident attracted national attention and led to the closure of Florida’s boot camps for juvenile offenders. Anderson had just been assigned to the camp after he was caught trespassing at a school, which violated his probation on another charge.
A state court jury acquitted the guards and the nurse of manslaughter on Oct. 12, 2007. Federal authorities then began investigating whether the boy’s civil rights were violated.

The Justice Department said in a news release Friday that investigators did not have enough evidence to pursue criminal charges.

The video showed the seven men punching Anderson and using knee strikes against him. It also showed them pushing ammonia capsules into his nose and dragging his limp body around the camp’s yard. The nurse did not appear to intervene in any way during the incident.A coroner initially ruled that Anderson died because of a fatal hemorrhage related to a previously undiagnosed case of sickle cell anemia trait. Protests of that ruling inspired then-Gov. Jeb Bush to order an independent prosecutor to look into the case.

A subsequent autopsy determined that guards killed Anderson by depriving him of oxygen when they pushed the ammonia tablets into his nose and covered his mouth.

The acquittal in the state’s manslaughter case came after a two-week trial in Panama City. Jurors said they agreed with the contention of the guards’ attorneys that the men were employing widely accepted boot camp tactics and that the death was caused by the sickle cell trait.The family also filed civil lawsuits against the state and Bay County that ultimately resulted in a $7.4 million settlement. (AP)

Marilyn Monroe "just sitting around"

The copyright to a home movie of Marilyn Monroe “just sitting around” with friends will be offered through an online auction this week, according to a man who found the film while researching the actress’ death.A short clip of the four-minute, silent 16 mm film provided to CNN to shows Monroe puffing on a cigarette, laughing and drinking wine on a couch.An FBI agent involved in the investigation of Monroe’s death on August 5, 1962 — which was ruled a suicide by drug overdose — tipped off collector Keya Morgan to the film’s existence.Morgan was interviewing the agent for a documentary titled “Marilyn Monroe: Murder at 5th Helena Drive,” he said.The documentary, due out next year, examines the theory that Monroe was killed by government agents because of her affair with President John F. Kennedy.Morgan said he paid $275,000 for the faded color film because it is “very rare” to find images of the actress’ private moments.”It’s a side of Marilyn that no one has ever seen before,” he said. “You see the private Norma Jeane, the girl. You don’t see Marilyn Monroe, the movie star.” Monroe changed her name from Norma Jeane Baker to Marilyn Monroe early in her acting and modeling career.(cnn)