justiceformichael.com Update

[Duke]

Wow, this is great news!!!

tkdlady, you should have Dave either PM me or e-mail me when he has an update and I'll add it to the news page (if he wishes).

http://www.justiceformichael.com/today.html

[Duke]

Here's the story for those of you not familiar with it:

http://www.justiceformichael.com/Frustration.html

Michael's drowning happened on June 7,2005, no arrests were made until six weeks later. Why did it take so long?

When I received the call that Michael was being transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola via Lifeflight, my
first thought was that he had been caught in the current and could not make his way to shore. When I arrived at the
hospital, Michael was in the Pediatriac ICU on life support equipment. The medical staff could not understand why he
was not as responsive as he should be. When asked by the doctor and nurse on duty if alcohol was involved,one of
the involved parties answered "no." This was a life or death situation. A nurse told me that they would have
medically treated Michael differently if they knew that there was alcohol involved. When the blood alcohol test came
back at 0.32, then the answer was that Michael had left with a friend that they may have drinking. The people involved
showed up at the hospital as my son fought for his life in the ICU . They went downstairs to work out their story. They
agreed to say that Michael left with a friend and they did not know if alcohol was involved or not.

I contacted the Sheriff's Department, but a investigator was not assigned to the case. A Deputy that had his normal
duties in addition to this case was handling the investigation. He did not have much time to dedicate to this case. I
contacted Children and Family Services and was told that they could not do anything because it was a criminal
investigation. June turned into July, still no progress.

Over the next month, thanks to the tips of some really good people, I began to learn the truth about the events of the
day. I had the names of a couple of people that were involved. As I obtained the information, I would write down the
facts and drop it off at the Sheriff's Department before I would make my daily trek to Sacred Heart Hospital to see my
son. Still nothing was happening. By now, my frustration level had peaked. Michael was lying in the Rehabilitation
Unit and nobody was doing anything to find the truth. One Thursday morning, I was about to go to Atlanta to be with
Michael when I decided that it was time for things to happen.

I contacted the Northwest Florida Daily News , started this website, contacted Sheriff Charlie Morris' office, contacted
the State Attorney's office, and Children and Family services (again) seeking help. The next day, an investigator from
the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department called me in Atlanta to tell me he was assigned to Michael's case. Within a
few days, arrests were made.

If I did not take the steps that I took, this case would still be open. It was given a low priority and that was
unacceptable to me. I made it as public as I could. I would not allow it to swept under the rug. As far as anyone knew,
it was just a teenage boy that had a near drowning. Difference was the truth was not being told. Two months of trying
to be there for my son and trying to find the truth. Ridiculous. Be heard, people, stir the pot, poke that hornets nest.
If you wait on justice, it ain't going to happen.

A 19 year old off duty bartender brought the beer to the beach that day and the vodka was furnished by a 16-year-old
Fort Walton Beach High School student. They hired attorneys and tried to deny any accountability for their actions.
They were both adjudicated guilty for their part in this. The other 16-year-old stood up and took his punishment;
hopefully he learned from this.

Michael drank the alcohol. I'm sure that he was not forced to do it. Peer pressure is a powerful thing. No matter what
you try to teach your child, they will make mistakes. Michael made his. However, if the alcohol was not provided, he
could not have drank it. Michael's birthday is March 26th, this incident happened on June 7th, he was barely 14 years
old. Laws are made for a reason. In this case, the laws were supposed to protect our children. The laws were broken
and now people must pay. There was another 19 year old and a 20 year old female at the beach with the minors that
day. Why they were hanging around two 16 year olds and a 14 year old, I have no idea. Talk about peer pressure;
hanging with older women. Wonder why the other two adults didn't try to stop the minors from drinking? You would
think with three adults there, one of them would have had the sense to put an end to the party. I wonder if there is a
law covering this? It seems if you see the law is being broken, you should do something about it. I guess common
sense is not a law.

The people involved in this did not come forward voluntarily, the stayed silent and lived their lives as if nothing
happened for six weeks. They did not care about Michael or what they had done to our lives. During the trials, not one
of them showed remorse. If they had came forward with the truth in the beginning, I would have had understanding
and compassion; they chose not to.

I have been called a bully and a screaming victim for standing up for Michael. I have dealt with the insensitivity and
cowardness of people that have left comments on this site. I have never backed down and have stood my ground
throughout this. What parent would not fight for their child?

[TKDLady]

Originally Posted by Duke

Wow, this is great news!!!

tkdlady, you should have Dave either PM me or e-mail me when he has an update and I'll add it to the news page (if he wishes).

http://www.justiceformichael.com/today.html

I will let him know you would like to keep up with any major progress. He hasn't seen too much improvement yet but there is still another month or so before he hits the 3 month mark. I am sorry I didn't say anything about this to you and the group since this is the reason I am here in the first place but I guess I figured I would wait until some real progress had been noticed. Things are still strained between he and I and it is hard to get a lot out of him. He is extremely sleep deprived and on the edge of mental and physical exhaustion which is very hard on me as well. I wish I knew how to help more but I am not really in a position to do too much right now. I would love to find a physical therapist who is willing to work for free 2 or 3 nights a week to help him out but I doubt I would be able to find that and don't even know where to start looking. I guess I am rambling. I am glad you posted this. I will contact Dave. I won't guarentee you will hear from him but at the very least I will give you more info as I learn more myself.

[Duke]

I really didn't mean anything by it, I do realize he has a lot on his plate.

I just want to help him spread the word which if I'm not mistaken, he wanted to raise public awareness.

Anyway, I thought it was great his son was laughing and took it as an extremely positive step forward which was the reason for this post.

[TKDLady]

He does want to raise awareness. And if the stem cells kick in I am sure he will be doing better. He just isn't too good about keeping up with e-mail. I did send him a note and asked him to contact you. At the very least, I can keep you all updated as he and I talk at work or if he puts up an update that has significant progress. Michael has been laughing for a while but it is random. He does it without external stimulation. I like to think he has some memories and those make him laugh at odd times and hopefully he will be able to tell Dave about them one day. I have to have some faith. Dave did say that his laughter lately has changed and it sounds more like the old Michael. A step forward I hope. I will keep you updated. I didn't mean to sound negative before. I just know Dave is so tired he doesn't do much more than is absolutely necessary these days.

[TKDLady]

By the way, I think this is a wonderful idea. And if I gave any other impression, I am sorry.

[Vautrin]

The little steps you describe do sound promising - but it is no guarantee whatsoever. .

When one of my neighbor's kids (a good friend of my brother) was in an accident he has gone through two months of coma. He never gave up, and that is what has gotten him far back into recovery.

[TKDLady]

Dave won't give up either and I admire him so much for it. I continue to hope and pray Michael continues to improve.