TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 26 (UPI) -- The death of a teenager in a Florida boot camp has sparked a legislative accord that would eliminate all boot camps in favor of a gentler system.
The $10.5 million package, on which state House and Senate negotiators agreed Tuesday, would replace boot camps with Sheriff's Training and Respect, or STAR, Academies.
The new system, named in honor of January boot camp beating-death victim Martin Anderson, would focus on education, counseling and post-release offender monitoring.
"We have some niceties that we need to clean up, but today is the beginning of a new day," Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville, told the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat.
Smith and Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami, brokered the accord.
"Sometimes it takes tragedy to bring about change," Barreiro said.
Barreiro said he was hopeful Gov. Jeb Bush would support the plan, noting Bush's recent commitment to Anderson's parents to reform Florida's boot camp system.
