Florida May Rebury Reform School Bodies in the State Capital
Source: Associated Press
Florida May Rebury Reform School Bodies in the State Capital
By gary fineout, associated press
MARIANNA, Fla. Aug 19, 2016, 8:48 PM
Amid a contentious debate that evoked race, spilled blood and child abuse, a state-created task force on Friday recommended that Florida move bodies found on the campus of a now-shuttered reform school and bury them somewhere in the state's capital city.
The decision was not unanimous but it was indicative of the raw emotions that surrounded those struggling with the legacy of the Arthur G. Dozier School. The school, located 60 miles west of Tallahassee, was shut down in 2011. Some former students have accused school officials of physical and sexual abuse.
That same task force also recommended that two memorials noting the troubled school be placed in the capital and the county where the school was located. They failed, however, to agree exactly where the memorial should be placed in Jackson County, including if it belongs on the 1,400-acre school campus.
The Florida Legislature created the task force earlier this year to help sort out questions surrounding the school. It came shortly after the University of South Florida concluded a multi-year investigation where researches exhumed remains from 51 bodies. The task force was charged with recommending to the Legislature as well as Florida Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials what to do with unclaimed bodies and what type of memorial should be created.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/task-force-debate-legacy-troubled-florida-school-41509014