Hundreds of victims are to receive tens of thousands of dollars in restitution from the state of Florida after suffering abuse at two state-run reform schools over 50 years ago.
Back in the 1960s, 500 boys were housed at what is now known as the Dozier School for Boys. Some were orphans, some were abandoned children, and some were young criminals, most of whom had committed only minor offenses.
In recent years, hundreds of men have come forward to detail the disturbing treatment they experienced at the schools some 50 years ago. They alleged that acts like physical and sexual assaults were frequent and brutal. Not to mention, nearly 100 boys died between 1900 and 1973 at Dozier. Researchers even recently found bodies of victims buried in unmarked graves.
“I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime. A lot of brutality, a lot of horror, a lot of death,” said Bryant Middleton, an army veteran who recalled being beaten six times while attending Dozier as a child. He told NBC News that he “would rather be sent back into the jungles of Vietnam than to spend one single day at the Florida School for Boys.”
For decades, the Dozier school was known for its violent reputation, with many reporting horrific instances of abuse, such as children being chained to the walls, beaten, and even killed. “If one of your kids were kept in such circumstances, you’d be up there with rifles,” then-Gov. Claude Kirk said back in the 1960s, following an in-person visit to the school.
Officials closed the school in 2011 after investigations found evidence of the reported abuse.
Ahead of the December 31 deadline, the state of Florida received more than 800 applications for restitution from victims of the abuse at Dozier and its sister school in Okeechobee.
The post Florida to Compensate Hundreds of Victims of Horrific School Abuse appeared first on VICE.
