Florida Senate - 2027 (NP) SB 42
By Senator Grall
29-00073-27 202742__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act for the relief of Eugene Wyatt; providing an
3 appropriation to compensate Mr. Wyatt for injuries and
4 damages sustained as a result of his confinement at
5 the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys if certain
6 conditions are met; providing a limitation on
7 compensation and the payment of attorney fees;
8 providing an effective date.
9
10 WHEREAS, in 1900, the Florida State Reform School, also
11 known as the Florida Industrial School for Boys, the Florida
12 School for Boys, the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, and most
13 commonly called the Dozier School, was opened in Marianna by the
14 state to house children who were found guilty of committing
15 minor criminal offenses, such as incorrigibility, truancy, and
16 smoking, as well as more serious offenses, such as theft and
17 murder, and
18 WHEREAS, reports of abuse, suspicious deaths, and threats
19 of closure plagued the Dozier School throughout its history, and
20 WHEREAS, many former students of the Dozier School have
21 sworn under oath that they were beaten at a facility located on
22 school grounds known as the White House, and
23 WHEREAS, a psychologist employed at the Dozier School
24 testified under oath at a 1958 United States Senate Judiciary
25 Committee hearing that boys at the school were beaten by an
26 administrator, that the blows were severe and were dealt with
27 great force using a leather strap approximately 10 inches long
28 which was brought down from a full-arm swing over the head, and
29 that the beatings constituted “brutality,” and
30 WHEREAS, a former Dozier School employee stated in
31 interviews with law enforcement that, in 1962, several employees
32 of the school were removed from the facility based upon
33 allegations that they made sexual advances toward boys at the
34 facility, and
35 WHEREAS, during the 2017 legislative session, the
36 Legislature unanimously issued a formal apology to the victims
37 of Florida reform school abuse with the passage of CS/SR 1440
38 and CS/HR 1335, expressing regret for the treatment of boys who
39 were sent to the Dozier School and the Okeechobee School;
40 acknowledging that the treatment was cruel, unjust, and a
41 violation of human decency; and expressing the Legislature’s
42 commitment to ensure that children who have been placed in the
43 state’s care will be protected from abuse and violations of
44 human decency, and
45 WHEREAS, on January 20, 1964, Eugene Wyatt was committed to
46 the Dozier School for delinquency and was received at the Dozier
47 School on February 3, 1964, and
48 WHEREAS, on February 23, 1965, Mr. Wyatt was discharged
49 from the Dozier School, and
50 WHEREAS, during the 2024 legislative session, the
51 Legislature unanimously passed CS/HB 21 that established the
52 Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation
53 Program, which authorized former students of the Dozier School
54 to submit applications to the Department of Legal Affairs for
55 compensation under s. 16.63, Florida Statutes, and
56 WHEREAS, under the program, an applicant needed to provide
57 the Department of Legal Affairs with his name; his date of
58 birth; his mailing address; the name of the school confined to;
59 proof of mental, physical, or sexual abuse perpetrated by school
60 personnel during his confinement; and a signed statement
61 acknowledging that he waives the right to further compensation
62 related to his confinement at the school, and
63 WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt was unable to submit an application for
64 compensation under the program before the prescribed deadline
65 passed, and
66 WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt now seeks $21,253.98 as compensation for
67 the period of time he was committed at the Dozier School, and
68 WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt, without a legal or administrative
69 remedy to seek redress for his confinement in the Dozier School,
70 seeks equitable relief from the Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE,
71
72 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
73
74 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act are
75 found and declared to be true.
76 Section 2. The sum of $21,253.98 is appropriated from the
77 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Legal Affairs for the
78 relief of Eugene Wyatt for injuries and damages sustained.
79 Section 3. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
80 a warrant in favor of Eugene Wyatt in the sum of $21,253.98 upon
81 funds of the Department of Legal Affairs in the State Treasury
82 and to pay the same out of such funds in the State Treasury upon
83 Mr. Wyatt otherwise satisfying the conditions set forth in s.
84 16.62, Florida Statutes.
85 Section 4. The amount paid by the Department of Legal
86 Affairs as awarded under this act is intended to provide the
87 sole compensation for all present and future claims arising out
88 of the factual situation described in this act which resulted in
89 injuries and damages to Eugene Wyatt. The total amount paid for
90 attorney fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25 percent
91 of the total amount awarded under this act.
92 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.