Lawmakers Prepare Apology for Dozier Victims

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By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 4, 2017……… With emotional testimony from boys who were beaten and abused at a now-shuttered Northwest Florida reform school, the Legislature on Tuesday moved forward with a formal apology and plans for two memorials to remember the victims.

“Today is the next step for this Legislature to honor their memory and declare with honesty, conviction and clarity that these types of atrocities and tragedies should never occur again,” said Sen. Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg Democrat who is sponsoring a resolution (SR 1440) that includes an apology to victims of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the resolution after hearing personal testimony from men who were sent as boys to Dozier, as well as a related facility in Okeechobee, for infractions as frivolous as skipping school or smoking.