Survivors of Dozier School for Boys relive school horrors as state prepares formal apology

Tallahassee, Fla. — Several men recalled with great difficulty, the beatings and sexual abuse at the north Florida reform school as the state began the process of formally apologizing for the horror they endured more than 50 years ago.

"I've seen a lot in my lifetime. A lot of brutality, a lot of horror, a lot of death," said Bryant Middleton who lived at Dozier between 1959 and 1961. Middleton also served more than 20 years in the Army, including combat in Vietnam. "I would rather be sent back into the jungles of Vietnam than to spend one single day at the Florida School for Boys."

The school in Marianna, 60 miles west of Tallahassee was shut down in 2011. Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would formally recognize and apologize for the abuse at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, where nearly 100 boys died between 1900 and 1973.

The University of South Florida recently exhumed the remains of 51 bodies in hopes of identifying boys buried in unmarked graves.

A group known as The White House Boys, named for the white building where boys were taken and beaten, has worked to get the abuse recognized and state lawmakers are finally doing so.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran met with the survivors in his office before appearing with them at a news conference.

"It's a great disgrace. It's horrific," Corcoran told the men. "You can't fix that kind of horror. It's really a heartfelt apology."

The House proposes building two memorials, one on the Capitol grounds and one in Marianna, and plans to reintern remains found at the school.

Middleton recalled passing out after being hit 56 times and waking up in a bloody nightgown. He talked about being sexually abused by a doctor and a child psychologist.

Richard Huntly, 70, of Orlando remembered being sent to the reform school with his brother when he was 11.

Huntly said they were forced to work in sugar cane fields, where he cut off part of a toe with a machete. He also remembers being beaten because black students weren't allowed to talk to white students.

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