contact The White House Boys       In Memory: Manuel Giddens * James Bunday * Ellis Adams * John GoForth * Michael Gabriel * John Bennett * Michael Bates * Hollis Sutton * Edgar Elton *



“There is not one bad boy at this school. Most are here because they are from broken and troubled homes.” Arthor G. Dozier, Superintendant, Florida School for Boys at Marianna




CLICK HERE TO READ IMPORTANT NOTICE TO FLORIDA SENATE (Senate response added today 3/10/10)
FDLE report on our allegations of abuse is to be released today at 1:00 PM  (CLICK HERE TO VIEW REPORT)


I am rather shocked at this report. The evidence is overwhelming that the beatings were brutal, bloody and in some cases life threatening. More than 56 young bodies are still unaccounted for. The FDLE report has based its findings on various statements where a few individuals viewed certain incidents in a different perspective. There was no mention of Doctor Wexler’s daughter who stated “she occasionally treated boys who had cuts or welts on their behinds. But if they needed a stitch it would only be a few." Considering Miss. Wexler was a very young female, forbidden to ride her bike near the White House or the hospital as hundreds of teenage boys, hormones flaring, might possibly become a danger to her. Therefore, she only visited the hospital on rare occasions but still admits to seeing boys having been stitched up from the beatings.

More than 350 men have stated that the beatings, rapes and molestations were brutal where only three stated “they got exactly what they deserved.” FLDE gives these three men’s statements as much creditability as the statements made by 350 other witnesses.

The FDLE report also tried to make it appear that any disagreements between the men (causing their division(s) had to do with the creditability of their statements, which is not the case at all. The divisions had to do with how the White House Boys should proceed and how they should be viewed in the eyes of the general public. I see the FDLE report as one that tries to steer public perception away from the term “Nazi concentration camp” by making the abuses appear not to be as bad or severe as they actually were. The evidence is overwhelming and FDLE had no choice but to admit to the beatings and abuses. But (again) they had to do it in a manner that makes the horror of the abuses not to seem as bad as they actually were. Yes, there was a Nazi concentration camp but FDLE wants to make it appear to the public that the schools were nothing more than a heavy-handed Boy Scout Camps that accidently forgot to put a Band-Aid on a boy's cut one summer and how bad could that have been?

I find it strange that the FDLE chose not interview Troy Tidwell (accused of beatings, rape, numerous molestations and possible murder). FDLE gave no creditably to the statements, letters and/or office memos made by the governor’s own office personal after they viewed one of the beatings. A beating where the seams of the boys Levis began to split open during the course of the beating. This gentleman is still alive today and works in a Real Estate office in Clarabelle, Florida. He states "the beating was so horrible" that even today he does not wish to talk about what he witnessed.

The White House Boys are not a bunch of thugs and/or criminals. Many became authors, military officers, country singer, business men, professors, CIA officials and most are law abiding citizens. Several even ran for or held Public office. Most of the men have a productive life and contribute greatly to the society in which they live today.

This is a very good example of how FDLE covers up certain facts: There was a fire in one of the dormitories. Their description of the fire states: ‘there was a dormitory fire and eleven boys were burnt to death.’ This statement alone makes the fire appear to be an accident. However; here is the true and full account: “A woodstove fell over and started a fire in a dormitory. The boys had been chained to their bunks allowing the two (2) house-parents, who had left several hours earlier, to visit a local house of ill repute in downtown Marianna.” This leads those reading about the account to believe that the fire was just an accident. But, knowing all the facts they can easily see and determine that the deaths of these young boys was the direct result of the two state employees' actions.

IN CLOSING: FDLE has taken hours of interviews and taken from those conversations only the portions which benefit their objective; which is to cover-up and/or make it appear to be a minor happening in Florida's history. This report is very disappointing in that those who are now investigating these incidents were children themselves during that period. There is no logical reason why these people will not step forward and tell/admit the truth. Or is there?

Roger Dean Kiser

ANOTHER EXAMPLE/QUESTION: Did John Doe go to the White House and receive a beating?
FDLE: “What did you see?”
Witness #1: “I saw John smiling as he enters the White House but I never saw him come out.”
FDLE: “What did you see witness #2?”
Witness #2: “I saw John enter the White House and did not see him come out. However, I did see him the next day wearing a red shirt at the dining hall and he looked very sad.”
FDLE: “What did you see witness #3?”
Witness#3: “I saw John walk into the White House and then walk back out about 20 minutes later. I saw him the next day wearing a yellow shirt at the chow hall.”

FINAL FDLE REPORT: After viewing numerous statements we are unable to determine if John Doe actually went to the White House as there are too many conflicting statements. Comments such as “walk in” and “enter” are very conflicting as were “mess hall,” and “chow hall” along with “red shirt and “yellow shirt” and “smiling” and “very sad.”

Again, I will repeat myself from a former interview: “No one in their right mind would ask Charlie Manson to investigate whether or not he committed the Leo and Rosemary/Sharon Tate murders.” This is exactly what has happened in this case/investigation.

A preponderance of the evidence tells a true and accurate story. The men know the truth, the press knows the truth, the public knows the truth, the state of Florida knows the truth (though they will not admit it) and certainly the Senator’s and house members are smart enough to know the truth. If I were a senator, I would pick up the telephone and call FDLE and state “Come on fellows; do you think we are total idiots up here?”

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                                 THE UNNECESSARY DEATH AND KILLING OF EDGAR ELTON-Jerry Cooper's first hand account involving the death of a young man. (story at bottom of page)

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THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS

The "White House" Torture Chamber

In this small white building, where boys were beaten until their underwear or pajamas had to be surgically removed from the buttocks, lives the memories and horrors of the worst child abuse in Florida's history.

View pictures of the White House: CLICK HERE



"If one of your kids were kept in such circumstances
you'd be up there with rifles."

Governor Claude Kirk

THE WALL


Blood still on the walls, ceiling and floors even after fifty years. The terrible screams I heard and the brutal beatings I witnessed as a twelve year old will remain in my memory forever. The beatings I suffered are not my horrors today. My horrors are the beatings of crying boys that I had to witness before my own beatings. The horror of knowing that I was next. For almost thirty minutes, at age sixty-two, I stood alone in the exact room where I was almost beaten to death. With my heart racing and the side of my neck pulsating, I lit a cigarette and I cried without feeling shame.

THE CELL


The thick concrete walls and the loud industrial fan easily muffled the horrible screams of the boys as they were beaten bloody. Some were carried to the hospital in wheelbarrows and some had to have their underwear or pajamas surgically removed from the buttocks.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Torture Chamber


“We was a-pissin’ in our britches,
'cause we knew that place so well.”


Most people could never imagine the horrific acts that were committed behind the secret doors of this schools ironically beautiful brick buildings and lush lawns. The victims, and they truly were victims, have finally come forward to unearth the deadly deeds that occured there. The men who made it through this school with their lives, and not much else, now call themselves the White House Boys, after the small white building that still sits on those lush lawns, where they were raped and beaten, to the point of nonrecognition, on a regular basis.

These men now need society's support in order to do what they were not able to do as little boys. These men now need our support in order to stand up to their offenders, support to finally receive what they were continually denied, a life.



"They call it "The White House?"

TROY TIDWELL
Mr. Troy Tidwell was one of the main beaters at the school. His beatings of boys ran into the thousands. There are many who despise Tidwell for what he did. Personally, I hold the State of Florida responsible. The Governors knew, Senators knew, Congressmen knew as did most judges and local officials; yet they did nothing to stop these atrocities. Tidwell has stated under oath that he was only doing his job and that may very well be true. However, if that is the case then why does he not step forward and tell the truth before meeting his maker one day? Though most will never forgive him; a few of the men he brutally beat might have some form of respect for a man who tried to right a wrong.

Robert Loyal Currie
This was a man who was assigned by the State of Florida to help, train and guide children but in the process he destroyed many lives. The amount of young boys he molested will never be known. There were many instances where this man's actions were exposed and he should have been removed from his position, but many in authority chose to look the other way. I, for one will forever be affected by the evil deeds done in this man's office. I shall forever remember the looks on the secretaries’ faces as they sat by with looks of pity and said absolutely nothing.


When Nightmares Become Real

The horror of these brutal beatings stayed with these boys for many years. Some had to sleep with a light on at night for years.

"The White House Boys" was formed by Roger Dean Kiser, Michael O'McCarthy, Robert Straley and Dick Colon. Together they exposed to the public the horrors hundreds of boys suffered at the hands of those responsible for their care at several Florida Indistrial Schools. 0000.
White House Boys Book-CLICK HERE

OUR ATTORNEYS
The Masterson Group

We (all who were abused) are currently being represented by a team of lawyers in an effort to seek justice because of the acts of violence that were committed. Our attorneys are interested in determining if there are other witnesses to the abuse that we are attempting to expose. If you would be willing to serve as a witness to the acts of violence, please call Thomas Masterson at 1-727-896-3641 He is one of the attorneys in our legal team that is involved in our representation. You must call to join the class-action law suite.

At the top information bar are pictures of the inside of the "White House Torture Chamber." Most of the pictures were taken on October 21st, 2008. Even after fifty years, blood stains still remain on the walls and floors. Some say horrible screams of agony are still heard in the late night hours.

As I entered the White House for the first time in almost fifty years, I will never forget walking behind several female guards now working at the facility. "OH MY GOD! IT'S TRUE," she said, as she covered her mouth with both hands.

I smiled to myself knowing that the truth lives on, even if still hidden behind closed doors. As I walked behind them my heart racing, which was understandable. But, it was the fright in my wide open eyes, as they shifted from side to side which bothered me the most.

THE TOILET


The toilet facilities are just as nice today they were fifty years ago. As I stood looking at this toilet on October 21, 2008; I well remember one boy asking to use the bathroom before his beating and that request was refused. When the beating was complete the boy left the building with feces all over his legs and boots. He never shed a tear but covered his face with both hands from the embarrassment.

THE HALLWAY


The White House videos and photos shown on this site, was a punishment building where boys from 9-16 years old were brutally whipped with a 3-4 inch wide by two and a half foot long leather strap with a sheet metal insert. Thirty to fifty lashes for general infractions, one hundred lashes for running away. There was a facility for black boys across the street. Whatever happened to the white population was nothing compared to what the blacks suffered, up to two hundred lashes, possibly murder.

The Florida State Reform School, currently being called the Authur G. Dozier School for Boys, established by the State of Florida's lawmakers, has been hiding a horrific secret for over half a century.

The school, which was built in 1897, was intended to be a place where adolescent boys, some as young as 8 years old, could be separated from the prison system, and the evils of adult criminals, and could receive the education and mental support they needed as young men. It was established in order to provide young offenders a place where they could grow and learn, and in that way, be reformed enough to be contributing members of society. Instead, it became a "new kind of hell" which destroyed many lives.

Doctor Byrd tesitified before a United States Subcomittee on juvenile delinquency and his testimony (transcript on information bar above) clearly shows that Troy Tidwell lied during his deposition.


Kissimmee, Florida

Orlando, Florida

The White House Boys met in Brunswick, Georgia for their first reunion, Kissimmee, Florida for their second reunion and Orlando, Florida for the third reunion. Friendships were reformed, pictutres were shared and many tears were shed. Thoughts were revised, many closed hearts were opened and (after fifty years) smiles began to return to many a sad and somewhat hardened faces. As children, these are men who have overcome the most horrible of abuses. They should be very proud to have survived.

A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
There are allegations that Troy Tidwell sexually molested several boys while employed at FSB. During the deposition he (Tidwell) was asked about the charges, which he adamantly denied. After having the video analyzed by several specialists; they conclude (from his reaction to the question) that the charges might very well be true. However, many of the boys (now men) remember Tidwell, though exceptionally mean and cruel, to be what one might consider to be “a man’s man.” Had there been any “hanky-panky” on his part (such as was the case with Doctor Robert Currie), stories would have been abound. However, this does not mean that Troy Tidwell did not take sexual advantage of several boys during the course of his employment at the school. Only he, they and God know the answer to that question.

THE STRAP




"Dear Mr. Kiser, I saw the page regarding the leather-strap. Jesus Christ, 2.46 pounds. Do you know that thing's heavier than a baseball-bat (Typical MLB Bat: 30 - 33 oz = 1.875 lbs - 2.0625 lbs)? To think people like Hatton, Tidwell, and Dozier were swinging that thing at teenagers and children with the force of a baseball pitcher hurling a 90 mile an hour fast-ball (not to mention the fact that people in the State of Florida, and the FSB's Superintendant considered this to be completely acceptable)... Absolutely despicable.

Sincerely, Peter"


What appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful campus to the general public allowed the brutal beatings, molestations, rapes and possible murders of children to continue (behind closed doors) for more than fifty years.

A NOTE FROM ROGER


E-mail Roger Dean Kiser at: trampolineone@earthlink.net

I have been asked many times why I have pursued this matter for so many years. Was it the beatings, the abuse-maybe it was the killing of young boys? I had never given it much thought. All I knew was there was this deep feeling inside me that I had never forgot. One evening after the family had gone to bed, I lit a cigarette, opened a Coca Cola and I walk out onto my front porch. I stood there thinking about that question. All at once it came to me. It was not the beatings, the abuse, the molestations or the murders. It was the fear I felt inside my twelve year old mind on the two minute walk from Mr. Hatton’s office to that damn White House Building door. Not knowing if I would walk back out alive. I will never forget having at act brave in front of the other boys when along I was scared to death. I will never forget wondering if I were about to die.


(A picture is worth a thousand words)

One can tell by the look of joy and the Christmas spirit glowing upon these two boys's faces, as they hold X-mas gifts, just how wonderful life was at FSB Marianna. R.W. Hatton had to be one of the most cruel individuals ever employeed at that school. The many young lives he ruined will never be known. Even in death this man is not entitled to any respect, at least not from me.



"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
Luke 17:2

I have continued my efforts to write about the abuses as well as document other men's stories. The abuses include beatings, floggings, rape, molestations and in some cases the murder of many children. Their stories can be read at the "victims stories" link above.



CONTACTS and SONG

The Flowers of Marianna-CLICK HERE



MEN WHO HAVE PERSONAL WEB SITES




Bill Warner-Private Investigator




Bill Warner (Private Investigator) has been looking into the White House Boys issue and our stories from the very beginning. Bill became personally involved with our team because our story touched him deeply and he viewed this issue of child abuse as a travesty of justice.


"THE APOLOGY? "





Video Deposition (Here) Actual Deposition (Here)


A Brotherhood of Children

The men's personal stories

"A Brotherhood of Children I"
CLICK HERE
"A Brotherhood of Children II"
CLICK HERE


Let us not forget our fallen brothers



These are a few of the young kids arriving at FSB in June of 1959. As they drink their bottle of milk, you can look into their hardned criminal faces (?) and see they have been made to feel totally worthless as children. The real damage has yet to begin. Hatton, Tidwell and Doctor Robert Currie will make damn sure of that.




"I want to know where love is"-A very moving video which tells the story-CLICK THIS LINK HERE


"It hurts, it really hurts. Still today, when you think about it,
it really hurts."





The Closing & Sealing of the White House Torture
Chamber on October 21st, 2008.



FIRST PHOTO
Author, Roger Dean Kiser saying, "A lot of good little boys walked into this damn White House building standing behind me; but a lot more little Charlie Manson's walked back out than did good little boys." (Roger's entire speech below)

SECOND PHOTO
Millionaire, Dick Colon saying, "I looked into his face after he beat me and he smiled. I thought to myself, 'If I could reach into your damn chest right now I would pull out your damn heart and I would take a bite out of it'."

THIRD PHOTO
Bill “Willie” Haynes, Richard “Dick” Colon, Robert Straley and Roger Dean Kiser sitting at the closing of the White House Ceremony on October 21, 2008.

FOURTH PHOTO
Roger consoles Mr. Colon as Dick has an emotional moment during the ceremony. Mr. Colon returns to the Florida School for Boys each year and hands out scholarships to the boys at the school where he was brutally beaten. Dick was beaten many times at the White House because he had a learning disability and was unable to understand, perform or pass the required work at the institution's school. Let there be no doubt that child abuse lasts a lifetime.

FIFTH PHOTO
"When I got off the cot there was blood running down my legs. I HATE THINKING ABOUT THIS,” he yelled at representatives of the Florida Governor’s Office attending the closing of the White House ceremony. “That image sticks in my head to this day,” stated Michael O’McCarthy. Michael, Robert Straley, Roger Kiser and Bill Haynes then planted a tree outside the White House in memory of the hundreds of young boys who had suffered the most brutal of beatings and abuse at that facility.

 

 




Books and stories by Roger Dean Kiser CLICK HERE


Roger Kiser's rant of the day



IMPORTANT ARTICLES TO READ

Article One * Article Two * Article Three * Article Four * Article Five * Article Six * Article Seven *

Documents detail abuse at Florida School for Boys; was known for many years



John Brodnax wishes the truth were so easy to ignore. How nice it would be to forget Marianna and the blood he left there. In the late 1950s, the orphan from south St. Petersburg says, he was beaten separately by seven grown men swinging a stiff leather strap at the state-run Florida School for Boys.

Fifty-four years later, his memory of those trips to the little building they called the White House is as sharp as glass. "It was an experience you can't forget." That's why it angers the 67-year-old retired trucker that so many continue to doubt the abuse and to deny it.

One of those old guards, Troy Tidwell, called it "spanking" in a deposition for a lawsuit that Brodnax and more than 300 other men brought against him, which was dismissed last week. He said boys got between 10 and 12 licks, no more. Now, as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement nears the end of its investigation into the allegations, long-forgotten news reports offer more evidence that Brodnax and the others, called the White House Boys, are telling the truth.

In 1958, the now-defunct Miami News published a three-part series on the beatings: Marianna's Two Faces. Recently made available online, the stories by Jane Wood describe the resignation of seven psychologists in a two-year period in objection to the "routine beating of boys." "They are beatings delivered with the full force of a grown man," said one of them, Dr. Eugene Byrd. "They wear out the straps on the boys." Byrd said 15 to 20 boys were beaten every Saturday. No one denied that, the newspaper said, but staffers disputed the severity. "I don't think you can paddle a boy hard enough to do any good without leaving some discoloration," said assistant superintendent H.B. Mitchell, "but I know of no bleeding after a paddling." Florida law at the time did not allow beating or corporal punishment for adults in jail. It did allow whipping or strapping children. But the children's bureau of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare said in its guidelines for juvenile lockups: "Corporal punishment should not be tolerated in any form."

A study of 250 boys committed to Marianna showed they had received 691 whippings among them, the Miami News reported. Eleven-year-old boys had received 38 percent of the beatings, and 17-year-old boys received just 3 percent.

Gov. Leroy Collins set up a committee to investigate, then cleared the school administration. The superintendent at the time, Arthur G. Dozier, for whom the school is now named, said paddling was better than the alternative: solitary confinement. He added that the school was setting up a psychiatric unit, which would cut down dramatically on the spankings.

Six years later, in 1964, a reporter for the Miami Herald visited Dozier and quickly heard about the White House. "It is not on the tour," wrote reporter Joy Reese Shaw. "Nobody likes to talk about what goes on inside — and when they do, the sting of the whip seems to split through the words." Shaw talked to a boy from Miami sent up for bicycle theft. He had epilepsy and an IQ of 74. He had been whipped seven times in 11 months. "For the last four sessions of the legislature Marianna has requested a security detention building, and been denied," she wrote. "It would cost $198,320.00 to end the floggings."

Four years later, in 1968, a state supervisor for the Marianna school witnessed a beating that, all these years later, still makes his blood pressure rise. Reached recently by phone, Audie E. Langston said he didn't want to talk. "I just happened to be there when they caught a kid who was a runner. They caught him and took him into that building and one of the guys said, 'You should see this,' " Langston said in a short interview. "It was not a good thing. The people who were doing it thought they needed that method of control." Back then, Langston wrote a letter to his boss, O.J. Keller. He called what he saw "sickening."

"A young boy [was] taken into a stark, bare, dimly lit room where he was compelled to lie on a small cot and receive licks with a heavy leather strap. At the time the strap was being wielded by a man who was at least 6 feet, 3 inches and weighed well over 200 pounds. . . The child quivers and writhes. . ."

The letter, which Keller made public, spurred a push to ban corporal punishment.

A former house father at the school also sent Keller a letter, published in the Miami News, saying, "The belt falls between eight and 100 times. After about the tenth stroke, the seams of the sturdiest blue jeans begin to separate and numerous times the boys' skin is broken to the extent that stitches are required."

A supervisor who trained for a year at Marianna described a boy's buttocks as "bleeding profusely; the skin was broken, and the color of his buttocks was green, blue, red and purplish . . . It reminded me of the Dark Ages." The state did outlaw corporal punishment. But a year later, in 1969, the reform school superintendent told state legislators that bringing back the strap would cut down on the runaways. He was fired.

The town came to his defense: a state senator and representative, the mayor, the superintendent of schools, the newspaper publisher. He was reinstated.

John Brodnax ran from the school in 1960. He stole an Oldsmobile and blew smoke up U.S. 231 until he crashed in Ozark, Ala.

"I wasn't going back," he said. He tried to tell people about the abuse. Nobody believed him. Brodnax can't understand how it took so long for the state to quit beating children.

"I went through life being a mean, nasty irritable person," he said. "I've come to realize that all of us were a lot alike when we come out of there. I have animosity in my heart for the people that run the school. I have animosity toward the state for not doing anything about it. "It wasn't like people didn't know." Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8650.

To read archived newspaper stories on the beatings at Marianna, and for the Times multimedia report "For Their Own Good," go to magazine.tampabay.com.






The grave yard and the White House (Satellite view)



LATEST NEWS STORIES


THE UNNECESSARY DEATH AND KILLING OF EDGAR ELTON



There is no doubt that many deaths (killings) occurred at the Florida Industrial School for Boys at Marianna. Most will be denied by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as well as the Department of Juvenile Justice. It appears that even the deaths that can be substantiated will be covered up and considered as nothing more than a “normal passing.”

Below is an article which appeared in the Florida School for Boys Yellow Jacket Newspaper on July 10, 1961 as well as a picture of Edgar Elton, a sixteen year old boy, who was unnecessarily murdered during an illegal football practice in the school gymnasium.



Below is a firsthand account of the event as witnessed by the Florida School for Boys’ Quarterback, Jerry Cooper and could be substantiated by at least six other witnesses who were at the scene as well as the entire football team. Is there some reason why this young man’s death cannot be investigated as there is no “statute of limitations” on murder or possible manslaughter.



This is the truth how Edgar Elton died on July 10th 1961. The Yellow Jacket football team was in a practice session in the gym that day. It was not a physical fitness class as reported by the Yellow Jacket Newspaper which I just saw for the first time today Feb.18, 2010 which I received from Roger Kiser. The whole article is a complete and total Lie.

I was the second player in line behind Edgar during a very fast pace passing session. It was extremely fast and very exhausting, and it was very difficult for every team member to keep pace. Edgar went into an asthma attack and fell to his knees. Gasping for air, he told me he couldn’t breath and that he had a letter given to the school (by parents and his private doctor) that he was not suppose to be playing any form of sports. I told him to go to Troy Tidwell and Mr. Hatton who were both present in the gym. As he climbed to his feet and stumbled toward them; he was met by Tidwell about half-court. Tidwell screamed “get your fucking ass back in line.” When I broke line to tell them he was having a breathing attack; Hatton reached up to his side and placed his hand on his pistol, which he carried under the gray jacket he always wore. Tidwell turned toward me and then he began screaming calling me a “motherfucker”. The next run Edgar made would be his last. He collapsed and died within a minute. He was not rushed to the hospital as stated in the article. Dr. Wexler showed up ten or fifteen minutes later and pronounced him dead. His lifeless body was lying on the floor. No other Doctor was involved, whatsoever.

I can only surmise whoever gave this story to the Yellow Jacket Newspaper was hiding or wanted to cover up why and how the boy died. We need to find the student who wrote this story and find out who ordered him to report this article in this manner.

What was the purpose for all these lies; other than to cover up a murder or manslaughter conviction for those responsible?

We were told by the staff that we were breaking rules by practicing football at this time and that was why our team was being hidden in the gym.

Now how would I know that we were practicing illegally if I had not been told? The school had hired a professional football player/coach that had been an all-star quarterback for the state of Florida, who went on to play quarterback position for Denver Bronco’s and the New York Giants. Formally he had been injured and had his spleen removed. We had a coach who was a permanent employee on staff. Why was such an important coach necessary, like Vic Prinzi, to coach us? He never actually showed up at any of our games, only during practice sessions. Football was very important to Mr. Dozier, school superintendent, as well as too many of the other staff. I really think that Vic Prinzi may have been privately compensated by Mr. Dozier and other staff members as he was not on the Florida state payroll. Arthur Dozier and many other staff members were placing large financial bets on the outcome of the game(s). That was the advantage of us having a pro player coach and practicing illegally ( not within season regulations) while holding our training exercises hidden inside the gym and then later on hiding our practice sessions behind the baseball field, located behind the large school house.

THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT THESE PEOPLE WOULD DO JUST TO GET AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE OTHER TEAMS.

We were supposed to be there to be reformed? I was not taken down to the White House Torture Chamber over the incident in the gym but was instead busted to the low grade of “grub” for my remarks I had screamed at both Mr. Hatton and Mr. Tidwell when Edgar lay dying on the gymnasium floor. The only reason I was not taken back to the White House for another beating was because I was the team quarterback. Drew Morrison had already broken his leg in a practice session and was in a cast. He was the backup quarterback. Maybe they didn’t want to try to beat me at the White House again after the fight I had put up several weeks before. If Tidwell had not broken my foot during the beating, I would have won that battle. I made a promise to myself after they almost killed me during the former beating; the only way they would ever get me in the White House again was if I were already dead or totally blacked out.

I am saying in a public way to everybody that Troy Tidwell is a murderer and looks like he will get away with it. I say to you Troy Tidwell ‘I know you will be told of the accusations that I have made towards you when this story is posted. If you are not guilty of these chargers, why do you not come forward and take a lie detector test like I did? Between 1934 to 1971 you beat and killed kids for more than forty years; with about fifty boys still missing and unaccounted for. I guess your excuse now is your age and failing memory. I know that law enforcement can’t make you take a lie detector test, so if you’re not guilty why don’t you go on to prove your innocence?

You know why? Because you are GUILTY! I don’t see how you can lay your head on your pillow and sleep at night. You rank up there with Nazi war criminal Himmler during World War II. You are the most God awful person I have met in my sixty-five years of life. As a human being there is very little doubt that you were a menace to society, a liar, not a real man by any standard. Anyone who could beat young boys in the manner in which you did would almost have to be considered mentally unstable, not to forget to mention a very uneducated, self-centered individual and should never been in a position dealing with children.

Late one evening you told a group of us boy on the cottage basketball court that you were teased in school because you had only one arm. Were the brutal beatings you gave us your revenge against those children? I use to watch you go to the different cottages and try to impress everybody with your one arm full court throw of a basketball. You may not have realized it but you really looked like an idiot.

I know of two boys who went to the White House and received a brutal beating because of remarks they made about you having one arm. A real man would have ignored those comments. I have veteran friends with two limbs missing who have never complained as you did. You are a pathetic man. You have lived at least 99.9% of your life and still you have not become a man. Mr. Tidwell, you have no respect for anything or anyone. Would you please tell us where Tony Turner, the boy you beat to death at the White House, is so we can take care of that issue?

In closing, you have been very lucky in all that has happened. If the civil suit against you is dismissed, our efforts will not stop in connecting you to your criminal actions while you were employed at the school.

Jerry Arthur Cooper-A Whitehouse Boy.


Troy Tidwell



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