The Associated Press
September 28, 2005
CLEVELAND, Ga. — Six men pleaded not guilty to murder charges Wednesday in the death of an asthmatic 13-year-old boy at a state camp for troubled youths.
Travis Parker died April 21 at the Appalachian Wilderness Camp in north Georgia after counselors restrained him for more than an hour.
He was also denied his asthma inhaler during the incident.
An autopsy determined the face-down restraint caused Parker's death.
Charged with felony murder, cruelty to children in the second degree and involuntary manslaughter were Ryan Chapman, Paul Binford, Mathew Desing, Torbin Vining, Johnny Harris and Phillip Elliott.
In August, the official responsible for training at the camp, Sam Shoemaker, was fired after he refused to take a lie-detector test regarding practices at the camp.
Shoemaker was told to take a lie-detector test as part of an internal investigation into the death by the state Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases.
"He was terminated for his failure to cooperate with the investigation," agency director Gwen Skinner said.
