Last month, I wrote about Florida's welcome decision to shut down its four remaining "boot camps" for juvenile offenders, in favor of somewhat gentler approaches to young kids in trouble with the law. The closure was the latest fallout from the death of 14-year-old Martin Anderson while in the custody of one of the camps.

Now, the investigation into Martin's death has taken a giant step forward with the release of a second autopsy report, which concludes that Martin did not die as the result of sickle-cell trait, a blood disorder which is only rarely fatal, as the first autopsy concluded. Instead, says the new report by Hillsborough County chief medical examiner Vernard Adams, "Martin Anderson's death was caused by suffocation due to the actions of guards at the boot camp. The suffocation caused by manual (blockage) of the mouth, in concert with forced inhalation of ammonia fumes that caused spasm of the vocal cords resulting in internal blockage of the upper airway."

The author of the original autopsy report, Bay County Medical Examiner Charles Siebert, is still standing by his sickle-cell story, but he seems to be standing alone.

Martin's family is said to be taking some comfort in the new findings, and in the hope that someday, someone might be called to account for the brutal treatment Martin suffered at the hands of state authorities. A videotape of that treatment is available online, at the Justice for Martin website.