In 2009, the Florida School for Boys was the subject of an extensive special report, For Their Own Good, published by the St. Petersburg Times. Allegations focusing on the 1960s included claims that one room was used for whipping white boys and another for black boys (The facility was fully segregated until 1968). The whippings were carried out by guards using a 3-foot-long belt made of leather and metal and were so severe that the victim's underwear could become embedded in his skin. One former student said that he had seen a boy trapped in a running laundry dryer at the school and suspected the boy was killed.
