A dig at a former reform school on the Florida Panhandle is unearthing evidence of a possible 20th century atrocity – They found 55 sets of human remains, almost twice as many as official records say should be there in the area once called “boot hill”.

Former juvenile inmates, now old men, have long told of tales of the brutality at the Dozier School for Boys.  A century ago, the area near Marianna was isolated from the rest of civilization in a pine forest near Florida’s border with Alabama and Georgia – the deepest of the Deep South.  Searchers from nine law enforcement and academic agencies dug up the graves to investigate local stories and family tales of boys – some Caucasian but mostly African-American – who died there or disappeared without explanation.

Only 31 graves are supposed to have been there.

“Locating 55 burials is a significant finding, which opens up a whole new set of questions for our team,” said University of South Florida professor Erin Kimmerle, head of the research project.  “All of the analyses needed to answer these important questions are yet to be done, but it is our intention to answer as many of these questions as possible.”

Kids were sentenced to Dozier for such "crimes" as truancy, running away from home, and for serious felonies - but also for trumped up charges in which white cops and judges sat in judgment of black youths.  Digging will continue in fields adjacent to the cemetery.