A Florida bill passed by the legislators is aimed at reburying remains of students, who were victims of sexual and physical violence in the early days of the shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (Florida School for Boys). With the new bill, Florida will be able to close a dark chapter in its history.
Gov. Rick Scott will be approving the Florida bill which was passed by the legislators. As WFLA reported, the measure will try to come to terms with the notorious legacy of the Florida School for Boys. The Florida Bill has an allocation of $7,500 for the funeral and burial of each exhumed body. The amount would also help officials to get pertinent records, artifacts and remains buried in the school site. A task force will also be assigned to make a devise plan for unidentified or unclaimed bodies.
"These boys that were placed in the state's hands deserve better than unmarked graves," Rep. Ed Narain, a Tampa Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors.
Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys situated 60 miles west of Tallahassee was closed in 2011. Former students alleged the school officers of abuse and torture that led to death of some students. The reform school was run by the state but was notorious for the school officials' gruesome beatings to students. There were nearly 300 students known as "White House Boys" sent in the reform school between1950s to 1960s, NPR earlier reported. The school was a home to children charged of serious crimes and even minor felonies.
Over the past decades, former students came forward and told their own stories of severe beatings and torture sustained by the previous students there. Soon after, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated and concluded that there are no enough evidences to prove the claims of the former students. The University of Florida launched another examination in the former school and found that about 100 students died there including two adult staff members from years 1900 to 1973, according to ABC News.
Despite passing the Florida bill, it is still uncertain what will be the fate of the previous reform school. Many were asking whether the 1,400-acre site school would be shuttered permanently or it would be turned over to the city. One thing is sure. The dark past of Florida will be finished.
