A North Carolina district attorney will not press charges in the case of a 12-year-old who died after wilderness camp staff forced him to sleep in an enclosed, tentlike sack.
Clark Harman, 12, died on February 3 at Trails Carolina, a wilderness camp for troubled adolescents, one of many programs that make up the “troubled teen” industry in the US. Activists have long accused the industry of being abusive and dangerous for attendees, many of whom are taken to programs against their will.
“The investigation revealed that Clark Harman’s death was the result of suffocation, which, while tragic, did not involve criminal intent or recklessness sufficient to warrant criminal charges for involuntary manslaughter under the law,” Andrew Murray, district attorney for the counties of Henderson, Polk and Transylvania, wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
“While we are deeply saddened by this tragedy, we must follow the law and make decisions based on the evidence and our legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” he added.
Harman died earlier this year after staff ordered him to sleep in a bivy, or small nylon tent, The Charlotte Observer reports. The waterproof opening was completely secured and staff attached an alarm that would go off if he tried to leave.
The autopsy report revealed the bivy may have restricted his breathing, leading him to suffocate, according to the Observer.
“He was placed into this compromised sleeping area by other(s) and did not have the ability to reasonably remove himself from the situation,” the autopsy report read.
“It should be noted that a common warning on commercially available bivy products indicates that the outer, weather resistant opening should not be fully secured as it may lead to condensation and breathing restriction,” the report added.
Investigators found that staff knew Harman was “agitated and distraught with being required to sleep in the bivy,” CNN reports. They found he was “thrashing about and uttering incoherent gibberish,” but none of them thought he was in “any type of medical distress.”
Harman arrived at Trails Carolina just one day before his death, after his parents sent him from their home in New York. The 12-year-old struggled with ADHD, anxiety and migraines, and his parents sent him to Trails Carolina due to “ongoing behavioral issues,” the Observer reports.
Just days after his death, the camp released a statement: “We are shattered by the tragic loss of a young life and our deepest sympathies are with the student’s family and loved ones.”
The camp also said that “investigations have concluded that there is no evidence that Trails failed to properly supervise, no evidence that Trails caused harm, and no evidence that conditions at Trails were unsafe or unhealthy,” according to CNN.
Trails Carolina shut down after the Department of Health and Human Services ordered it to end admissions in March, noting, “conditions in the facility are found to be detrimental to the health and safety of the clients,” CNN reports.
The camp’s license was officially revoked last month.
Several past attendees described feeling distressed and confused during their time at the camp.
Caroline Svarre toldNBC News her parents had her transported to Trails Carolina against her will by two strangers in the middle of the night at just 14. Svarre said she was “in shock” on her first day.
“I’ve never cried so hard,” Svarre told the outlet. “I cried because I felt betrayed.”
Rebecca Burney, who also underwent the program at 14, told NBC News Harman “does not deserve” what happened to him: “I know if I had died on my first night, I would have died believing that I was unloved and unwanted.”
In response, Trails Carolina spokesperson Wendy D’Alessandro told NBC News that staff show “compassion and patience” to the kids who attend the camp.
