Fla. Reform School Horrors Exposed

For 109 years, the Florida School for Boys was a Gitmo on the Panhandle. Kids guilty of youthful mistakes went in and came out traumatized or predisposed to a life of crime—or both. Now, long after many of the offenders and victims have died, an investigation is under way to determine whether unmarked graves on the reform school's property belong to adolescents subjected to fatal punishments. Though many administrators of the school deny any brutality, the sheer number of victims claiming abuse lends their story credibility. The school has been closed and a brief ceremony held that through delicate words acknowledged the brutality. But the St. Petersburg Times reports it was little comfort to the survivors, who can never forget the torture they endured while just teenagers.