SECOND GRAVEYARD VERY NEAR FSB GROUNDS DISCOVERED BY JERRY COOPER
ALL PICTURES AND DESCRIPTION COURTESY OF JERRY COOPER.....Thank You Jerry !
Located 2-3 hundred yards from the side fence of the now closed Dozier facility , a one acre plot, surrounded by chain link and in a state of extreme disrepair, it
looks to be very old. The property surrounding the cemetery belongs to Mrs. Donald Shaffer. In 1968 it was deeded to be named "The Gainer Cemetery." At one time
is was surrounded by a wrought iron fence which was replaced by a chain link fence. The entire property is known as "the Howard Munster Trust" The property has a
large peanut field on it at this time. There does not appear to have been any church or structure nearby. There are markers dating back to the late 1800's and at least
two or more dating to the 1950's. There is a chain and lock on the gate of the cemetery which appear to have been placed recently. There were two boys who tried to
escape from FSB and literally ran into the tombstones, this was in the 50-60's so at that time it was not fenced at all. This may be nothing more than an old civilian
graveyard, lost in time, however with it being in close proximity to the FSB campus which at the time was not enclosed with fence and razor wire, and being
used for agriculture, should have at least been mentioned in the FDLE's Report.
Update: Camera crew located cemetery, took pictures, didn't find any evidence of mechanical clearing, although the cemetery is now visable from the
road which it was not viewable before. Evidently someone besides Jerry Cooper has been in there over the last few days, the question is why now,
after decades of neglect ?
Of course there were many things not mentioned in the FDLE's Report such as men with scars, and the truth on the severity of the beatings that were already well
documented several times over in the newspaper and Florida archives. Troy Tidwell, Lenox Williams and Arthur Dozier all stated that no boy was given more than 15
"gentle spankings" as if delivered by a loving parent. If anyone believes that I have a bridge for sale. That statement is a slap in the face to every boy who walked
through that whitehouse door.
In October 21. 2008 the gates of the Dozier School (FSB) were opened so a group of five men, now in their sixties, could be taken to a ceremony that the
State of Florida and the Juvenile Justice Department had sanctioned. There, amid roughly 50 spectators, the men were to speak of their experience in front of
the "whitehouse" punishment room which had been closed for four decades. They could speak of the past, not the present, that being the only restriction. The ceremony
was conducted with the presentation of a plaque which promised that these types of abuses would never happen or be tolerated again. The men were
taken to a graveyard with 31 unmarked crosses amidst the woods, accessed by a dirt road. When the story went nationwide on the Associated Press the next day,
the officials at Dozier said "it was neither an admission nor an apology." Then what was it and why was the ceremony even conducted? Damage control appears to
be the reason with a continuation of denial of events of the past. The cover up began on that day and continues to this very day as more abuses are
uncovered; yet are without, admissions or apologies, nothing changes it would appear. The FDLE merely followed suite and " the whitehouse was once again
whitewashed and a broader cover up has begun."
"When we left the ceremony that day we felt a deep and emotional sense of relief, we had been given an apology however meager, we felt it was a
beginning. Never, in the history of Florida had former inmates been allowed back inside an institution to reconcile a wrongdoing by the State. The State of Florida had
admitted to some degree to the floggings that had happened in this frightening white cinder block building. We felt somewhat vindicated for the past transgressions
perpetrated against us and hoped we could finally move on with our lives. Then the very next day the facility blatantly denies us closure and acts as if the
ceremony never occurred and their expressed words rang with little or no remorse. Those empty promises and dishonest words that meant nothing to the state,
still prevail to this day.
Senator Al Lawson stated at a Jackson County Chamber of Commerce meeting in Marianna that he would try to have the plaque removed from the notorious
"whitehouse" punishment room. The citizenry of Marianna felt it was a "stain" on their town. As well it should be as they surrounded the boy's school with a wall of
silence. They knew the boys were being brutalized, but put jobs and money over human compassion and dignity. These floggings went on from the time it opened
in 1900 to 1968 when O.J. Keller finally stopped the floggings.
FDLE says the cemetery (31 graves) was known to everyone back in the early 1900's and got lost in time: If it was the graveyard back to 1900, then where are the
rest of the bodies? During these early years boys were thrown in with the convicts at night, subject to poor nutrition, sickness, worked as adults in the fields, whipped
brutally if they did not perform a man's work, how many died from that alone? It would be a sight more than 31. If just one a year died, there would be an extra 50 bodies
( 1900-1950 ) and I think that would be a low estimate, more like a minimum of three, unclaimed by parents. There were many throw-away boys in this institution.
If you think that boys were not beaten to death in those days read this:
What the FDLE has done is write a blank check of immunity to any brute that works in the DJJ system. Instead of sending the message that this will never
happen again they have sent the message that this can happen again and we will defend the abusers.
After searching the FDLE's report, as to the beatings, I find there is no mention of any other boy/man other than the original four White House boys, Roger Kiser, Robert
Straley, Michael O. McCarthy and Dick Colon. There are probably 75 to 100 men that received worse beatings than the above mentioned. Donald Smith and Jerry
Cooper, each received well over 100 lashes, yet they are not mentioned in the FDLE's report. Jerry Cooper, at his own expense, took a lie detector test to
confirm that his allegations were true. His scars were photographed. He passed the test and challenged Troy Tidwell to take a lie detector test as well. In Tidwell's
statements of the beatings he says: "I never gave more than 10-15 gentle blows and never raised the whip over my head." He refused to submit to a polygraph
test. Source: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/4166
The report smacks of being superficial and trivial in nature, there is a huge omission of testimony and facts, not to mention the history of the school, in which these
abuses are well documented all the way back to 1903. In that time in which we were there, in the 50s and 60s, there were many visits by senators, judges, governors, all
which reported that the school was the worst example of a reform school in the nation, called it a monstrosity, 1400 acres of hell, all in all there are 64 newspaper
archive reports that have been open to the public since at least 1958 and are listed on our web site: http://whitehouseboys.com Many back up our allegations to
the hilt.
The only archive material I found in this report was the history of the school and a picture of Mr. O.J.Keller, holding one of the straps and a paddle that the boys were
punished with. One must make an attempt to seek justice, even in the face of oppression by the State.
Archive Source:
http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/ARTICLE-ARCHIVE-ON-MARIANNA.html
FDLE Report: http://thewhitehouseboys.com/abusereport.pdf
Our Rebuttal To The FDLE Report: http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/TheWhipIsInOurHandsNow.html
Contributors to this report:
Jerry Cooper, Roger Kiser, Andrew Puel, Brian Middleton, Bill Hayes, Robert Straley
Roger Kiser: http://thewhitehouseboys.com
ALL PICTURES AND DESCRIPTION COURTESY OF JERRY COOPER.....Thank You Jerry !
Located 2-3 hundred yards from the side fence of the now closed Dozier facility , a one acre plot, surrounded by chain link and in a state of extreme disrepair, it
looks to be very old. The property surrounding the cemetery belongs to Mrs. Donald Shaffer. In 1968 it was deeded to be named "The Gainer Cemetery." At one time
is was surrounded by a wrought iron fence which was replaced by a chain link fence. The entire property is known as "the Howard Munster Trust" The property has a
large peanut field on it at this time. There does not appear to have been any church or structure nearby. There are markers dating back to the late 1800's and at least
two or more dating to the 1950's. There is a chain and lock on the gate of the cemetery which appear to have been placed recently. There were two boys who tried to
escape from FSB and literally ran into the tombstones, this was in the 50-60's so at that time it was not fenced at all. This may be nothing more than an old civilian
graveyard, lost in time, however with it being in close proximity to the FSB campus which at the time was not enclosed with fence and razor wire, and being
used for agriculture, should have at least been mentioned in the FDLE's Report.
Update: Camera crew located cemetery, took pictures, didn't find any evidence of mechanical clearing, although the cemetery is now visable from the
road which it was not viewable before. Evidently someone besides Jerry Cooper has been in there over the last few days, the question is why now,
after decades of neglect ?
Of course there were many things not mentioned in the FDLE's Report such as men with scars, and the truth on the severity of the beatings that were already well
documented several times over in the newspaper and Florida archives. Troy Tidwell, Lenox Williams and Arthur Dozier all stated that no boy was given more than 15
"gentle spankings" as if delivered by a loving parent. If anyone believes that I have a bridge for sale. That statement is a slap in the face to every boy who walked
through that whitehouse door.
In October 21. 2008 the gates of the Dozier School (FSB) were opened so a group of five men, now in their sixties, could be taken to a ceremony that the
State of Florida and the Juvenile Justice Department had sanctioned. There, amid roughly 50 spectators, the men were to speak of their experience in front of
the "whitehouse" punishment room which had been closed for four decades. They could speak of the past, not the present, that being the only restriction. The ceremony
was conducted with the presentation of a plaque which promised that these types of abuses would never happen or be tolerated again. The men were
taken to a graveyard with 31 unmarked crosses amidst the woods, accessed by a dirt road. When the story went nationwide on the Associated Press the next day,
the officials at Dozier said "it was neither an admission nor an apology." Then what was it and why was the ceremony even conducted? Damage control appears to
be the reason with a continuation of denial of events of the past. The cover up began on that day and continues to this very day as more abuses are
uncovered; yet are without, admissions or apologies, nothing changes it would appear. The FDLE merely followed suite and " the whitehouse was once again
whitewashed and a broader cover up has begun."
"When we left the ceremony that day we felt a deep and emotional sense of relief, we had been given an apology however meager, we felt it was a
beginning. Never, in the history of Florida had former inmates been allowed back inside an institution to reconcile a wrongdoing by the State. The State of Florida had
admitted to some degree to the floggings that had happened in this frightening white cinder block building. We felt somewhat vindicated for the past transgressions
perpetrated against us and hoped we could finally move on with our lives. Then the very next day the facility blatantly denies us closure and acts as if the
ceremony never occurred and their expressed words rang with little or no remorse. Those empty promises and dishonest words that meant nothing to the state,
still prevail to this day.
Senator Al Lawson stated at a Jackson County Chamber of Commerce meeting in Marianna that he would try to have the plaque removed from the notorious
"whitehouse" punishment room. The citizenry of Marianna felt it was a "stain" on their town. As well it should be as they surrounded the boy's school with a wall of
silence. They knew the boys were being brutalized, but put jobs and money over human compassion and dignity. These floggings went on from the time it opened
in 1900 to 1968 when O.J. Keller finally stopped the floggings.
FDLE says the cemetery (31 graves) was known to everyone back in the early 1900's and got lost in time: If it was the graveyard back to 1900, then where are the
rest of the bodies? During these early years boys were thrown in with the convicts at night, subject to poor nutrition, sickness, worked as adults in the fields, whipped
brutally if they did not perform a man's work, how many died from that alone? It would be a sight more than 31. If just one a year died, there would be an extra 50 bodies
( 1900-1950 ) and I think that would be a low estimate, more like a minimum of three, unclaimed by parents. There were many throw-away boys in this institution.
If you think that boys were not beaten to death in those days read this:
What the FDLE has done is write a blank check of immunity to any brute that works in the DJJ system. Instead of sending the message that this will never
happen again they have sent the message that this can happen again and we will defend the abusers.
After searching the FDLE's report, as to the beatings, I find there is no mention of any other boy/man other than the original four White House boys, Roger Kiser, Robert
Straley, Michael O. McCarthy and Dick Colon. There are probably 75 to 100 men that received worse beatings than the above mentioned. Donald Smith and Jerry
Cooper, each received well over 100 lashes, yet they are not mentioned in the FDLE's report. Jerry Cooper, at his own expense, took a lie detector test to
confirm that his allegations were true. His scars were photographed. He passed the test and challenged Troy Tidwell to take a lie detector test as well. In Tidwell's
statements of the beatings he says: "I never gave more than 10-15 gentle blows and never raised the whip over my head." He refused to submit to a polygraph
test. Source: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/4166
The report smacks of being superficial and trivial in nature, there is a huge omission of testimony and facts, not to mention the history of the school, in which these
abuses are well documented all the way back to 1903. In that time in which we were there, in the 50s and 60s, there were many visits by senators, judges, governors, all
which reported that the school was the worst example of a reform school in the nation, called it a monstrosity, 1400 acres of hell, all in all there are 64 newspaper
archive reports that have been open to the public since at least 1958 and are listed on our web site: http://whitehouseboys.com Many back up our allegations to
the hilt.
The only archive material I found in this report was the history of the school and a picture of Mr. O.J.Keller, holding one of the straps and a paddle that the boys were
punished with. One must make an attempt to seek justice, even in the face of oppression by the State.
Archive Source:
http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/ARTICLE-ARCHIVE-ON-MARIANNA.html
FDLE Report: http://thewhitehouseboys.com/abusereport.pdf
Our Rebuttal To The FDLE Report: http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com/TheWhipIsInOurHandsNow.html
Contributors to this report:
Jerry Cooper, Roger Kiser, Andrew Puel, Brian Middleton, Bill Hayes, Robert Straley
Roger Kiser: http://thewhitehouseboys.com
PICTURES BELOW THIS ARTICLE
CEMETERY PICTURES
