For their own good: a St. Petersburg Times special report on
child abuse at the Florida School for Boys  MARIANNA — The men
remember the same things: blood on the walls, bits of lip or
tongue on the pillow, the smell of urine and whiskey, the way
the bed springs sang with each blow. The way they cried out for
Jesus or mama. The grinding of the old fan that muffled their
cries. The one-armed man who swung the strap.  They remember
walking into the dark little building on the campus of the
Florida School for Boys, in bare feet and white pajamas, afraid
they'd never walk out.  For 109 years, this is where Florida has
sent bad boys. Boys have been sent here for rape or assault,
yes, but also for skipping school or smoking cigarettes or
running hard from broken homes. Some were tough, some confused
and afraid; all were treading through their formative years in
the custody of the state. They were as young as 5, as old as 20,
and they needed to be reformed.  It was for their own good.  Now
come the men with nightmar