On February 18, 2006, State Attorney Steve Meadows, whose jurisdiction includes Bay County, appealed to Florida Governor Jeb Bush for the case to be reassigned from his office.
In his letter, Meadows admitted "close ties" to FDLE chief Guy Tunnell, who had opened the boot camp where Anderson died while serving as Bay County sheriff.
"[citation needed] As early as January 9, FDLE officials announced that Anderson's autopsy ruled out "trauma or injury" as the cause of his death.
In mid-February, Bay County Medical Examiner Charles F. Siebert announced that his first autopsy of Anderson determined that the teen died of complications from sickle cell trait, a normally benign and relatively common condition among African Americans.
[11] It has been established, however, that people with sickle cell trait have a four thousand percent increased incidence of sudden death when put in a boot camp environment.
[13] The US military, in contrast, changed its boot camp procedures to lessen the probability of exertional death (Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, Memorandum 2003-004 Screening for Sickle Cell Disease at Accession).
[14] Dr. Jon Thogmartin, the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner said, "Michael Baden saying it [sickle cell trait] does not harm you—considering the literature, he may as well have walked out and said the world is flat.
[19] Dr. Adams did not dispute this: Defense attorney Waylon Graham asked him why he thought the use of ammonia could have killed Anderson when nothing like that has ever been recorded "in the history of the world."
Despite what amounts to a reckless character assassination by some media outlets and, regrettably, even some members of our government, I believe Dr. Siebert to be a competent and thorough medical examiner–not beholden to anyone or any cause.
"[22] Charles F. Siebert, the Bay County medical examiner who performed Anderson's first autopsy (and ruled out foul play), faced charges of professional incompetence in the beginning but was eventually found not guilty of this.
An example of a previous a clerical error, made popular by his critics and the media, was a 2004 autopsy performed by Siebert on 34-year-old Donna Reed, who died during Hurricane Ivan.
"[21] On August 3, 2007, Dr. Vincent DiMaio, retired Chief Medical Examiner for San Antonio and author of two best-selling textbooks of forensic pathology stated that Siebert's conclusions were scientifically valid and that Adams' was not.
In light of all that has happened, it appears inappropriate for the MEC to deny the request of the local 14th medical examiner district to defer any further action until Dr. Siebert has been afforded the opportunity through normal proceedings to both defend his findings and refute the allegations against him as due process requires.
The bottom line is that the good people of Bay County, including those serving on the local search committee, are apparently being ignored in their plea to keep Dr. Siebert as Medical Examiner.
Tunnell also sent e-mails to current Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, detailing his agency's efforts to withhold the video tape of the incident at the boot camp that led to Anderson's death.
Tunnell resigned from his post as FDLE chief in April 2006, after comments reportedly made by him about then Senator Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson were leaked to the press.
A group of mostly local college students staged a sit-in on April 19 and 20, 2006, taking over Governor Jeb Bush's public waiting room.
The Governor ordered a second autopsy; the second pathologist, Dr. Vern Adams, ruled Martin Anderson's death was "caused by suffocation due to actions of the guards at the boot camp.
[citation needed] Guy Tunnell, the FDLE commissioner, resigned after making inappropriate remarks made about African-American civil rights leaders related to the case.
On July 12, 2006, Robert Anderson and Gina Jones filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Anderson's parents claimed civil-rights violations were committed by both agencies and that both had conspired to cover up significant facts in the investigation, in addition to charges of negligence.
Bondi said Anderson died of oxygen deprivation after guards manhandled him and used excessive amounts of ammonia capsules when he became unresponsive while the nurse stood by and watched.
On the second day of the trial, Dr. Thomas Andrew, who is Chief Medical Examiner of New Hampshire, said Martin Lee Anderson died as a result of the boot camp guards' actions.
He said that everything combined, including the stress of the encounter and the physical exertion of the run, aggravated Anderson's sickle-cell condition, hampering the flow of oxygen in his blood.
From a toxicologist, Cynthia Lewis-Younger, the jury learned the highly concentrated ammonia capsules the guards used on Anderson were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on children.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors had called the chief medical director of Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice, who testified there was no outlined procedure for the use of ammonia capsules in the boot camp's policy manual, and someone with sickle cell trait would not have been excluded from the program.
[51] Nurse Kristin Schmidt said she did not find any signs of medical distress at any time; Anderson was breathing "fine" on his own but not complying with the guards' orders.
[52] In closing arguments Thursday, Hillsborough County assistant state attorney Michael Sinacore told jurors a desire for "control and domination," without a concern for safety, drove the actions of eight former boot camp employees.
[58] In mid-February, Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen ended his office's contract with the state to operate the Panama City boot camp where Anderson was beaten.
In a letter to Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) head Anthony J. Schembri, McKeithen wrote, "I believe the integrity of the boot camp in Bay County has been compromised, leaving the effectiveness of this program virtually paralyzed.