Florida boot camp staff acquitted

Seven Florida boot camp guards and a nurse have been acquitted of manslaughter in the case of a teenager whose beating was caught on videotape.

The 14-year-old boy collapsed after running laps on his first day at the camp for juvenile offenders in 2007.

The boy was beaten by guards for 30 minutes and made to inhale ammonia in what they said was an attempt to revive him. He died in hospital a day later.

The jury took about 90 minutes to find the guards not guilty.

Defence lawyers argued that the guards properly handled what they thought was a juvenile offender faking illness to avoid exercising.

They argued that Martin Lee Anderson died from complications linked to an undiagnosed sickle cell trait - a usually harmless blood disorder which can hinder the blood cells' ability to carry oxygen during physical stress.