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Atwater Looks For Next Steps At Dozier Boys School In Marianna
September 23, 2015
The Florida Cabinet is expected next week to discuss the state’s next steps after researchers finish onsite work at the shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a former reform school where children are alleged to have been abused and died in Marianna.
State Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wrote a letter Sept. 4 to Secretary of State Ken Detzner that said University of South Florida researchers, who have been excavating the site and seeking identification of remains, will submit a final report to the governor and Cabinet in the coming months.
Atwater urged that one entity be put in charge of issues that will follow the completion of the researchers’ onsite work.
“Now, the next phases involving the preservation of artifacts unearthed, the storage and reinterment of the remains of those unidentified, decisions regarding appropriate memorials, and state funding appropriations will need to be addressed,” Atwater wrote. “The issues involving the preservation of historical resources and records, archives, and state monuments seem best to be handled by the Department of State or an appropriate oversight body. Having one entity to oversee these next phases and ensuring the inclusion of stakeholders and families will be paramount as we move towards eventual closure.”
In the letter, Atwater asked for the issue to go before the governor and Cabinet, and it has been placed on the agenda of a meeting next Tuesday.
Dozier served as a state reform school for decades. Atwater’s letter said the USF researchers would submit a final report in December, though the Cabinet agenda indicates it will be submitted in January.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: A trench dug in the search for human remains at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. Pictured below: Mapping the graves. Pictured inset: The remains of George Owen Smith have been positively identified. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
6 Responses to “Atwater Looks For Next Steps At Dozier Boys School In Marianna”
It is not to late to hand down indictments.
If you worked there you had knowledge, let no stone go unturned.
Living or dead, the public has the right to know the names of these monsters.
I agree with KIKI!!!!! And I do not think the State of Florida should be in charge of this!!! They hide the facts and keep trying to sweep it all under the rug!!! I do not know why the FBI has not stepped in!!!!
They will never be held accountable for this.
What kiki said.
Kiki; The period of time when these boys were buried was so long ago that all involved are long since dead from old age. This same period in history was a time when people died from all sorts of diseases that are now readily preventable, or curable. No doubt that abuse went on there, but I think the investigation will show that the majority died of natural causes. Every prison of the time had a “potters field” to bury the dead. It was a very harsh time during the depression, and that place was harsh as well.
If they can find the people that were responsible for murderrs in the holocaust, then the authorities should have no problem finding the scum that was involved in these poor boys deaths! I hope they hold everyone responsible that they possibly can!!!!