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Digging For Bodies To Begin At Dozier School
August 27, 2013
Excavation of long-buried human remains from unmarked graves at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna will begin Saturday.
The weekend work outside the Boot Hill section of the closed Panhandle reform school is expected to be the first in a number of digs to occur over the next year, University of South Florida spokeswoman Lara Wade-Martinez said Monday in an email.
“USF has one year to complete the work at Dozier, which includes finding the location of any additional burials, the excavation of all human remains, DNA testing and analysis, and the re-internment of remains,” Wade-Martinez said.
The work at the Boot Hill section of the one-time 1,400-acre school is to last through Sept. 3.
As questions have arisen about whether boys who reportedly died of pneumonia and other natural causes were killed at the school, the efforts of USF researchers have faced opposition from some longtime Jackson County residents who have expressed concerns about what effect exhuming bodies will have on the local economy and the image of the community.
But Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, said that for the families of those who died at Dozier the state must admit what happened, “no matter how dark and how grim it may be.”
“In order to move forward you have to correct some of the past misgiving and missteps that the state has done under previous administrations,” Williams said.
The Legislature put $190,000 into the state budget to fund the research, determine the causes of death, identify remains, locate potential family members and cover the costs for any re-internment.
The university researchers led by Erin Kimmerle and Christian Wells have a one-year window to search the grounds for reportedly unaccounted-for bodies of boys who died between 1900 and 1952.
“We are now giving these young men an opportunity to go home,” Williams said. “Unfortunately they did not have the opportunity to go home reformed like when they were sent in.”
Researchers using ground-penetrating radar have identified potential graves on what is considered the “colored” cemetery within the site and believe there should also be a “white” cemetery on the grounds.
A temporary restraining order, issued in October 2012 by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper, has delayed the state’s intention to sell the Dozier property.
Cooper’s order allows the research work to proceed until the body of Thomas Varnadoe is exhumed.
Varnadoe died a month after arriving at the school in the 1930s. He was 13. A family member from central Florida has sought to move the remains to a family graveyard.
The public will not be able to watch the research work this weekend.
“In an effort to be respectful to the families, to maintain safety, and to allow the excavation work to be conducted unhindered, this will be a closed research site,” Wade-Martinez said.
The final approval for the dig came Aug. 6 from Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
In May, Jackson County Circuit Judge William L. Wright had denied a request by Bondi’s office to clear the way for exhuming remains.
by Jim Turner and Tom Urban, The News Service of Florida
Comments
8 Responses to “Digging For Bodies To Begin At Dozier School”
@david – most/all of these deaths resulted from the lack of health care (some they claim died of pnuemonia & other illnesses), but most believe they died from violent beatings they received. Some of the kids that were there were court ordered there for truancy, some for running away from their home, some for more serious crimes, yes, and sometimes for just having no parents at all – living in abusive foster homes, that they ran away from, not knowing theyd be sentenced to much worse.
And if you are right (& in most of these cases, you are), that their parents lacked parenting skills and the love it took to ensure that their kids didnt end up in a place like this….Do you consider your only “family” to be your parents? Do you have any siblings that love you? That you love? If your brother made some bad decisions when you were a child and was sent away, never to be seen again, and you later found out he was possibly beat to death and then shoved in a hole – marked only with a metal cross – no name and sometimes not even a cross marker. Wouldn’t you want a proper burial of your brother? Or would you prefer to just let his body & the secrets of that place remained buried, and pretend nothing ever happened? I dont believe these children had “proper burials”…they were buried to hide the bodies & the evidence of what really happened to them. Lets pretend this didnt happen at a state run facility, and a man beat someone you love to death, buried him in his back yard…would you prefer to just leave him there?
its sickening that anyone would question what impact exhuming the bodies would have on the economy. and its quite frankly sickening that you would question others that feel compassion for these BOYS (because yes, they were children…even if troubled)
REGARDING:
“I pray that everything goes well with the excavation and families are given their much deserved [albeit too late] closure.”
AND
“These victims must be spoken for. They all deserve a proper burial. ”
AND
“It is past time that this should be investigated and the young people buried there are identified and given a proper burial.”
AND
“Love, compassion and the right to do for others seems to be dying quickly in our society”
I’m not sure how they could have been better buried than they are, but dig up ‘em up and move them as often as you like.
If their families had cared and known how to raise them, most of them would probably have never been there in the first place.
I don’t see how we can say love and compassion are dying in our society when these things happened long ago and for a long time.
If they were murdered and any of the murderers are still around, punish them as you see fit.
David for raising children to avoid penal systems
The Dozier School For Boys tops the Natzi prison stories, because it was not just 1 person who abused these children, but many generations carried on a group effort to literally ruin the lives of the boys sent to them. It was the pit of hell. Goggle it.
I remember hearing about this reform school from when I was a kid. It sounded like our own Alcatraz, where the hardened bad boys went. I agree with Janet, that the concerns over public image of Marianna are misplaced. Quite frankly, this should be seen as a positive impact, a community doing the right thing to rectify the wrongs of the past.
I’ve read about this reform school quite a bit – once I started reading after hearing about this place on the news about a year ago, I couldn’t stop. The first hand accounts are so disturbing. I pray that everything goes well with the excavation and families are given their much deserved [albiet too late] closure.
Jackson County residents who have expressed concerns about what effect exhuming bodies will have on the local economy and the image of the community.
How can residents put the local economy and their precious image before young boys that could have been abused and killed, the secrets buried. Where is the justice for the families; the answers to why and how this could have happened. Love, compassion and the right to do for others seems to be dying quickly in our society. It’s heartbreaking.
It is past time that this should be investigated and the young people buried there are identified and given a proper burial.
I am glad USF will be able to start this search. These victims must be spoken for. They all deserve a proper burial. Gov. Scott and the cabinet got this decision wright.