Gulf Coast Confidential with Mollye Barrows
Gulf Coast Confidential with Mollye Barrows
Florida’s Free Kill Law - The Story of Cameron Perritt
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What happens when a medical error takes your loved one's life, but the state of Florida says you have no right to answers?
In this powerful personal documentary, we follow the family and friends of 33-year-old Cameron Perritt as they fight against Florida Statute § 768.21(8)—better known as the "Free Kill" law.
Because Cameron was over 25 and unmarried, his surviving family members are barred from seeking non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, in wrongful death claims.
This legal loophole does more than block financial justice; it blocks the entire discovery process, leaving grieving families facing a wall of silence from healthcare providers.
From the heartbreaking personal loss to the high-profile billboards at the state border, witness one family’s relentless battle to repeal this controversial law and restore medical accountability in Florida.
I'm investigative journalist Molly Barrow. For years, I've covered the stories that made headlines in Northwest Florida and all along the Gulf Coast. Murder. Missing persons. And mysteries of all kinds. These cases are far from over for many victims. Because the full story has yet to surface. Join me for Gulf Coast Confidential, where I dive into the saltier side of the south and expose the lies, greed, and corruption that often weighs down the truth. It's time to turn the tide and get a job at justice.
SPEAKER_04Hey y'all, and welcome to the Gulf Coast Confidential Podcast. I'm Molly.
SPEAKER_00Hi, I'm Pam.
SPEAKER_04We're talking about a situation here in Florida, a law that probably most people are not even aware of, but you need to be, because you'd have little to no reason to know about it unless someone you love dies due to possible medical malpractice or outright medical malpractice. It's often called Florida's free kill law. And this statute has been in place for more than 30 years. It prevents parents from suing for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. In malpractice cases, if their children are 25 and older, unmarried, and have no kids, likewise, adult children can't sue for similar damages if their parent is unmarried. Few people are even aware it exists until it impacts someone they love. And no one knows that better than Daryl and Sue Parrott. And they're joining us now from St. Augustine, Florida to share the story about their son in hopes that it will help change or abolish this free kill law and to warn others. And although I know Sue is Cameron's stepmother, they're just like a family. They're just like his mom in so many ways. She's known him since he was a little boy, and this Cameron's death tore them apart. And then it's hard enough to lose someone you love, but to lose someone and not have those answers. So, Daryl, you took Cameron to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida, after he was complaining about extreme abdominal pain. This was November 19th of 2024. Cameron told him that he had a history of blood clots. He pointed to his chest where it was hurting. You told them that he had a history of blood clots, but those tests weren't done, as far as you know, not until it was too late because four days after you brought him in, he was gone. Can you tell us about what happened to Cameron?
SPEAKER_01I um I got a call from his girlfriend that um he was in agony and I rushed him to the emergency room. Um we told the attending physician that he had a history of blood clots. He told them where the pain was coming from. He told them that he had been throwing up black bile, and uh the ride there was quite harrowing. I mean, he was screaming in agony in the backseat. Um and when your son is screaming in agony in the backseat, you're it's a it's a tough drive. Um the uh they ran some tests, they did some things, and over a period of several hours the pain subsided, and they sent us home. Um the following morning, the spasms and the agony came back, along with throwing up the bla bile, the black bile, which we now know as blood, rushed him there again, told him again that he had a history of blood clot, the pain was in where he put his finger, and um three days later, this will be the fourth day, Cameron died of a blood clot right where he put his finger.
SPEAKER_04Um you feel like that they could have avoided that he could still be here if they had just listened to you, but you can't get answers of why they didn't listen to you, what they did or didn't do, because you've been unable to pursue civil litigation over his case due to this free kill law.
SPEAKER_01Correct. So uh the the hospital has not said a single word to me about why they waited three days to perform surgery. And by the time it was uh I think the surgery that they did do was frankly performative. They realized that they had waited too long, and so they sent him into the surgery, got him open, came back 45 minutes an hour later, and said his internal organs had had no oxygen for three days. He's not gonna he's gonna die. And over the next 12 hours he slowly died.
SPEAKER_04Um and uh that's when your nightmare began.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's just a shock that to go from him working the day before to dead four days later to not being able to find out why. Um to be in my shoes. Nobody wants to be in Sue's shoes, struggling every day.
SPEAKER_04Well, and it's such a terrible situation to lose a loved one anyway, right? And then you're in the midst of trying to get him to the hospital, it's back and forth, the hospital releases him, he comes back, he's still in pain. They're not diagnosing him properly, which is basically why he ended up passing away from this because it went untreated for so long. And like you said, he was telling them where it was. Um, so you're concentrating on trying to save your son, you're concentrating on trying to get him better, and then the next thing you know, he's gone, and you'd never even heard of this law. When did you first find out about it? Here you are in the midst of dealing with this unexpected death of your beloved son and grieving after he died, um and I and Sue were in shock.
SPEAKER_01Um I had called an attorney friend, um, and they had told me that um he was gonna die. Um because he did take another 12 hours after they told me that he was gonna die.
SPEAKER_02It was a it was a slow progression over the course of the four days, and during that four days, they did perform um one or two tests on him, uh uh endoscopy, I believe. They they performed one of those. They said, oh, he might have some blood, it could be his gallbladder. We're gonna check down and and just see. So they they did one procedure, and I don't know if that was just to check the box that says we we performed something. It was inconclusive, and they still couldn't understand why he was throwing up blood, why he was in agonizing abdominal pain. Uh they didn't perform enough tests, and it was just a slow progression. Uh they did say that they were going to do a surgical procedure.
SPEAKER_01Um the third day, they performed surgery. They immediately came out and said his internal organs had had no oxygen for the last three days and he was gonna die. That's when I called the lawyer and I let him know that Cameron wasn't dead yet, and he said, Can you get him out of the hospital? Out of that hospital. You wouldn't believe the things that we've heard from that hospital.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01That was my first inclination that something was completely, but I both of us were in such incredible shock because all other indications Cameron was a healthy individual. He was a 33-year-old young man.
SPEAKER_04Yes, tell us a little bit about Cameron so that folks know the impact that this has had on your life and also how beloved he was in your town and in St. Augustine and to his friends and family. He was well known, hardworking. If you want to share a little bit about him with uh with us.
SPEAKER_02Um, well, Cameron worked at the barbecue shop, he managed it. Um he was well known all around town. He was famous for um doing like a whole hog pig picking. And everyone in town was always delighted when there was going to be an event where we were going to be providing the food um because of our our reputation in town, and also because of Cameron's um, you know, his his exuberance and his his charm.
SPEAKER_01He was an extremely handsome, charming, and a great communicator. Everybody loved Cameron. Yes, um, and he made sure everybody who walked into the shop walked out with a smile on their face. Um so um he went to high school here. Um he was working at the shop at 15 when I first opened it. And so 18 years he served barbecue in the town. So yeah, from high school.
SPEAKER_04And let me jump in real quick. So anybody who isn't familiar, if you're ever in St. Augustine or if you're in that area, you need to swing by smoke and D's because that's your business, and you built it from the ground up, and it's super popular. You know, we have uh produced a documentary on this, and we're excited to release that too. But we did visit, and we you could see how much people loved coming there, not just for the food, but for the atmosphere that y'all create and the sense of family for the folks that work there, for the folks that come there, and you can see how much the hole that has been left by Cameron being gone, he was such a big part of that, even operating um another business that you opened, another uh site, if you will.
SPEAKER_00Well, what what's interesting about in communities too and uh their family and even like my family, when you come from a family where there's an entrepreneurship or the family business and stuff, it's almost like you wear that all day, every day, and that's who we become. And then uh, you know, because I'm Bob Hill's daughter, then it swapped over to he's Pamela Hill's daddy, you know. So it sounds like what happened with Cameron and them too, that he had the barbecue in his blood, for lack of a better better saying. But there you are, and you're working with this every day, all day, these acceptable practices of how normal people do. Then you get the hospital and you're like, wait a minute, I gotta make sure he's married with kids or da-da-da, or under this age, he still matters regardless of these other things. And as a pharmacist, and with HIPAA and all these other things and all these forms we fill out and stuff, you're still the father and you're still the mother, you're still the family and stuff. And when you're standing there watching someone in agony or the things happening, and nobody will talk to you straight. Like, oh, it's not about being litigious. I see that so much in pharmacy, even. People aren't asking to sue. They're like, What happened to my loved one? I brought them here. Exactly. I want an answer, and then you get painted as like a problem or troublemaker. Or emotional, right?
SPEAKER_04You're not believing us because you're too close to the situation. Right. You entrust your loved ones' lives to them. They claim to be the medical professionals and to first do no harm.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. But there's so much stuff that goes on that I mean it's so ridiculous. I ask you a question about my child, regardless of his age, and I'm not getting an answer. Then later you assign all these other kind of uh bad vibes or whatever to me, thinking I'm trying to do something. I want to know what happened to my child.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. And because Cameron was over 25, unmarried, didn't have any young children under the Florida free kill law, the family couldn't find out anything about it. Daryl Sue, that must have been so upsetting for you. And I know it's not about money, it's about answers, and that's why you want people to know about this law.
SPEAKER_01It it was never about money. I've got all the money I need, and if they change the law of the day, I couldn't sue for money anyway. It was about finding out what happened. When it really, I talked to the lawyer and he kind of alluded to this law, and I had no idea. Um, when they came out of surgery and told us that he was going to die, his mother asked the surgeon, Why did you wait so long to perform surgery? Because they said he had no oxygen to his internal organs for three days. And the surgeon said, Um, I don't know, they called me at 2:30 today. Now that was a full three days after the first time I took Cameron to the hospital. And those were the last words that the hospital has spoken to me to this day.
SPEAKER_04I reached out to them as well, and we're talking about Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, and they never got back with me either. And, you know, as we talked about this story with people in your hometown, like you mentioned, there were other folks that felt like it didn't have the best reputation for giving people the kind of care, the proper attention that they needed. So I can see why you're so frustrated. Um, so how did this go ahead?
SPEAKER_01What happened and why? And I that's that's all. Just if I make a mistake or you make a mistake, or somebody makes a mistake, they should be able to say, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, uh we're fixing it. The first part of this is me getting an answer. But to find that I will never get an answer. This law says Cameron's life does not matter. And this law says your life does not matter inside a Florida medical facility. And eight million people in the state of Florida's lives do not matter in a Florida medical facility. That's the bottom line that what this law does. Now, if this law was good for the state, then other states would do it. But nobody's done it. So this law has one purpose and one purpose only, and that's to protect the profits of the health insurance industry in the state of Florida.
SPEAKER_04Yes, and we're gonna get into that in a minute, just some of the legislative efforts that have been made to try to repeal this law or even change it and how they just keep getting shut down year after year. But this family is not letting go. And and there are also many other families. You know, we're here in Escambi County here in Pensacola, the panhandle, the very tip of the Florida panhandle, and I have talked to other families who also are just devastated by the free kill law. There was a young man that was hit crossing a street here on a busy night. He and another young man were both hit. Uh, the person who hit them was in a car. He had stopped and he just starts videoing what had happened. He sees the ambulance pull up, he sees the paramedics get out. They absolutely did everything you can possibly do wrong, they did wrong. And he has it on video. They didn't properly position this young man that was in the street. They let his hold up a limb, let it drop. Didn't support his head, he was dead, and they at that point they didn't even, they weren't sure he was actually gone, but they were just treating him as if he already was. Nobody would have ever known it, but this young man had the video of what had happened. Fast forward, the family went to sue the county for not properly training these paramedics. It was actually a big scandal that happened here in Escambia County, and things have gotten on the right track, but they couldn't sue. I mean, you have this egregious evidence on video of how they didn't give this man proper treatment and he may have died anyway, but they certainly weren't gonna help the situation, and there was absolutely nothing they can do about it. So, and just like yourselves, they just didn't know that this law even existed until it happened, and it's so devastating. Oh, yeah, and it's frustrating.
SPEAKER_00It's crazy to learn stuff right then, too, because like we all are created equal. We all matter. I can't believe we have to have uh we have to go and fight people to go, they still matter, you know, just because you're not married, just because you didn't have kids, just because you're a certain age, you still matter, you still have loved ones and advocates for you that should be able to get an answer. And I I I just look at all this and go, it's always built around the fragonacle BS, you know, like let's hide this, let's hide this. Ever heard of telling the truth all the time, every time?
SPEAKER_04Right. And why does a life have to be defined by a monetary value? Exactly, or relationship. Exactly. Well, just because somebody is dependent on you, whether it's a spouse or a child, doesn't mean you don't have value to your family. And I feel like that's what's right so frustrating too. It's a way of kicking you in the face. And and Daryl, to your point, if this law is so great and so positive and and avoid in and keeping down frivolous lawsuits, as our governor has said, is the reason why he shot it down when there was a repeal or change a couple of years ago, then why aren't other states doing it? Florida's it. Like we're the only ones.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. Well, at a certain point, it is just a budgetary uh cost analysis, like we can thump these eight million people off over here, me being one of them. That's scary to be sitting here knowing, and I didn't know this to Daryl brought this up, and until peep there are plenty of people like me sitting here going, Well, I thought I mattered, and I'd like for my sister to be able to get an answer.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Well, and Daryl, I'd love for you to talk about something else that you mentioned to me that I never never even crossed my mind until we talked about it, but it makes sense. Um, you mentioned that every single member of the Florida Catholic clergy are free kill available, every nun, every priest, at least 30% of their members, according to that data. And you and others have really been working hard to raise awareness to the Catholic Church in the state of Florida, and you've been getting some letters back. One I saw from Bishop Wack over at the Diocese of Pensacola, Tallahassee, basically saying, quote, I hadn't heard about the saw. I was very troubled. He went on to talk about how they had had a meeting amongst the bishops right after that, and they discussed it, and they all agreed that this was not something that was good for the state of Florida, and they have an advocate in Tallahassee, and they have petitioned him to keep bringing it up that this isn't something that they want and to do what they can to repeal it. I never even crossed my mind to think about that, but that's a huge segment of the population right there. And I would think that would impact how anybody would want to move to the state of Florida, whether you're in the Catholic Church or you're retiring or gonna vacation here or start a business. I mean, that that was shocking to me, Daryl, when you mentioned that about the Catholic Church. I'm glad that they're responding to you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's beginning to be some awareness being built. Um and that's really all I want is I want Cameron's life to matter. And if I can get this law repealed, then to me that makes Cameron's life matter. That's what I'm looking to do.
SPEAKER_04Yes, and what's been the reaction from people that you talk to about this?
SPEAKER_01Well, every single person um are in shock that this law even exists. Now it's important to to I think realize that we've had doctors testify at the legislative hearings. They don't want this law. Because if you are a doctor that doesn't care, where are you gonna go? Florida is attracting the worst doctors in the world because at least 30% of your patients cannot hold you accountable. At least 30%. So, to your point of the paramedic, well, if you're a bad paramedic, where would you go? You want to be someplace else? No, I want to be someplace where I can't be held accountable.
SPEAKER_04You're right. And look at what we have right now: a headline-making case right out of Destin, Florida, Dr. Thomas Shiknowski, who is lost his license here in Florida. It was suspended and then he retired, and then it was revoked in Alabama. But he removed a 70-year-old man's liver instead of his spleen. The man was there, Mr. Bill Bryan, for a surgery that Shiknowski pushed on him, essentially, according to Mr. Bryan's widow, insisted that he had this surgery. He wanted to, he was vacationing in Destin, wanted to go back home to Muscle Scholes, Alabama, where they're from, and have the surgery there because he realized he needed his spleen out, basically. And uh Shiknowski. Essentially pressured him into doing that. He has the surgery. He bleeds out on the operating table. It is the most egregious and shocking case of medical malpractice, certainly in this country, possibly the world, this point that we even know about. I mean, that's according to the personal injury attorney that's representing them. But what if he didn't have a wife? His kids were grown. What if Beverly had had wasn't there for whatever reason? Right. I mean, it can you imagine not being able to sue when somebody takes out the wrong organ? I mean, it's shocking, but it's what it's essentially what you guys experienced, even though it wasn't as headline-making with what happened at Cameron. It it rocked your world. You have questions, you want to know if they did their jobs right. And and maybe doctors who aren't the best at their field are gonna say, well, you know what? I can go to Florida if I mess up, you know, I got this law that's a safety net, and it's I can't I can't be held accountable.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. Well, they say, you know what you come of the uh person that graduated last in their class, you still call them doctor, you know, in their medical class. But the point is, too, and a lot of people get so caught up with the money part and go, Well, you're just mad because you can't sue. That is not true.
SPEAKER_04It's just that medical answer. Yeah, it's the only avenue people have to get answers. It's not like you can say, Listen, I think you may have messed up on my loved one. Cameron Parrot came in telling you that he was complaining of blood clots, you guys didn't handle it, and then they sit down with you and say, gosh, you're right. Here's our files, here's what happened. You're so right. And and you know, instead, that's what it takes to get answers. You have to file a civil suit. And if you don't have that option, then you're just stuck standing there holding your grief with nothing to to do with it.
SPEAKER_00Right. Well, in grief and loss, you already have a lot of questions, and the main one a lot of times is why. And what we figure out going through any grief and loss is no answer is going to be good enough. But I need the peace of mind that, like we've said before, my son's life mattered.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. And you want people to know hey, if there is a problem with this doctor, if there is a problem with this medical facility, there are going to be changes. And civil lawsuits spur those changes. You can make that as part of the the fallout, if you will, of doing something. But if you can't pursue that avenue, then you don't have that option to fix the problem. Right.
SPEAKER_00Well, if you don't, if we don't let people talk about it, we sure ain't gonna fix it.
SPEAKER_04Right. Well, Daryl, I've been so impressed to, you know, I've certainly interviewed a lot of family members over the years who've had loved ones die for various reasons. And a lot of times people want to change whatever the problem is that that caused their loved one to pass. But I don't think I've ever seen a dent that has worked as hard as Daryl has to raise awareness about something that can potentially impact so many people's lives. He's put up billboards all throughout his community, as well as the state of Florida, around Tallahassee, and um even one right there at the state line, letting people know what they're in for when they cross this line. And he's got good reason to. Legislators came close to changing this law in 2025. They overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to repeal the state's free kill law. And the past bill would have ended this 35-year-old provision, but Governor Ron DeSantis decided that it didn't need to happen. So he vetoed it in May of 2025, saying that repealing the adult child wrongful death protections without lawsuit caps. He said it would increase in uh litigation, these frivolous lawsuits, and raise health care costs. But Darrell, what were your thoughts on that? And the efforts just to repeal it again actually stalled in 2026. So here we are still fighting to change and repeal this law. What do you think about DeSantis's move to not sign that legislation?
SPEAKER_01Well, it's the same thing that I'm trying to get from the hospital. Why? Why did you veto a bill that 93% of Florida's lawmakers said should end? 93%. You can't get 93% of the people and lawmakers to agree that water is wet. That's right on. And he vetoed it. So why would he veto it? It was so insulting to all of the advocates who have lost family members, mothers, fathers. There's thousands of people like me who maybe didn't have the resources to run billboards or didn't have the ability to pay for an autopsy to find out what really happened. Um, you know, the majority of these cases, people call the lawyer and say, lawyer says I can't help you. There's a law that says I can't sue you. So we can't find out. They don't have any money, or they have they're tragic, and they just go away in their grief. And so I'm asking why DeSantis vetoed it something. There's only one reason because of the profit that the health insurance industry is making from not holding people accountable for this. I will never make money. I'm just trying to make Cameron's life matter. And he said I was doing this for money. He said we were doing this for money. Anybody that's this has happened to, they will never ever get money for it. But they are living the grief every day that they have to tell their story. It's not an easy story, it's not a place anybody wants to be. Thank goodness for Susie. She keeps me together on a daily basis.
SPEAKER_02DeSantis pretty much humiliated everyone that was there fighting for this. He called it, he said that we wanted jackpot justice. That no, it there's no jackpot when a family member dies due to medical negligence. That's just not true. And for him to use those words um was just wrong. Yeah, offensive.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was yeah, it it was uh not just a very unfortunate choice of words, it was deliberate. And how dare you throw that at me when I'm standing here, billboards cost a lot of money. Um, we've you know, in my dad's business, they cost a lot of money to put them up there. And believe me, uh, your businessman, there are quicker ways to make money than to do this right here. And anytime the legal system gets involved in your grief, you can hardly ever, nobody gets over this. We all get through it, but having to always have the legal system, and I don't call them the justice system because it is just a system and there's nothing just about it, you know. So when they're jumping in and causing this, and you know, you're trying to move forward too. But people like y'all that keep this fight going because you can't bring Cameron back, but you can help others of us, say like me and other people, to keep this from happening to them and to honor Cameron.
SPEAKER_04And to keep telling the story and to have other victims keep telling their stories.
SPEAKER_02I know that you have it's not just for the residents in Florida, it's for tourists as well. How many tourists come to Florida every year? If something happens when they're on vacation and they're sent to a medical facility, um it it they're they're you know they have no rights right in Florida.
SPEAKER_01They have rights, they don't realize they're even vulnerable. If I'd have taken Cameron 70 miles north, like the lawyer told me after it was too late, get him out of that hospital, he might be here.
SPEAKER_00Yep. It's interesting they say jackpot because people coming here and those of us dealing with this, we it is like a casino and a crapshoot for us, you know?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, and it seems to me that that's the path that they want to go down, whether it's changing insurance laws of any kind. I mean, here in Florida, we pay some of the highest rates of insurance on every level, from home to car to health insurance. And they want to tell us when we complain that it's because we're worried about money. Contraire, Monfreyer, you're the one that's making it about money. I want to know who's donating to your campaign. I want to know how these laws are coming to an existence. I mean, this law is what, 30, 35 years old and it didn't exist before then. And certainly insurance lobbyists had a big hand in that because they assigned a monetary value based on dependency. And it's basically saying that, like you said, a life doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that this person died if they're not supporting someone. And that's not true, you know, at all in any way, shape, or form. Um, and and Stu, tell us a little bit about just the impact that this has had on your family, you know, not only losing Cameron, but I think for folks who don't understand what it's like to lose someone, uh, certainly Pam and I both do, and there are a lot of people that do, but to lose someone naturally or even unexpectedly is one thing, but to lose them when you feel like it's been snatched out of your hands and that you have no answers, no recourse to hold someone accountable for it, just the impact that that's had on your family and this and this fight that y'all have continued to push forward.
SPEAKER_02Well, there's just so many unanswered questions, and we're just looking to, you know, get past it and get some closure, but it's very hard to do that when you just you don't know what happened, no one's allowed to tell you what happened. If you call the hospital, the hospital will say, Well, um, our records are sealed now, and only a subpoena from a court could come and get them open, but you have no case because Cameron had no wife and no dependent children. So basically, you're told no, you you cannot have an answer. And you that's just wrong. Um, it's just wrong on all levels.
SPEAKER_04It is. Daryl, where do you stand now? I know you've got a website, um, freekill.org, and then you've also got a political action committee basically that you founded. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing to try to change this and how people who are interested can get involved.
SPEAKER_01Well, first off, the Santes vetoed it the following year. We got it immediately through the House, but the state, the Senate refused to bring it to the floor. So that put us in a situation where we don't know which senators believe that Florida's free kill law should end and which ones don't, because the previous year, 93% of them, it was brought to the floor and they had to say yes or no. It's probably likely that many of them that said yes were aware that DeSantes would veto it. So the second year, being afraid, they made sure that it did not come to the Senate floor. Uh so nobody in the Senate can be held accountable for not voting to end Florida's free kill law. I'm sure since this is election year, there's quite a bit of money coming from the health insurance industry, um, making sure that that things remain exactly as they are. The sad thing. So, what I'm doing with this election coming up is as soon as all of the state candidates are um uh set, both the blue team and the red team, they will all be getting a letter from Ann Free Kill now, along with um contract with Floridians um that will um ask them to sign and pledge to end Florida's free kill law and that all Floridians should be treated equally. Those candidates that sign it, we will be advertising, promoting, and announcing and making a big deal of those that sign it, and those that ignore it, we will advertise, market, and advocate for them not to get elected. So we're trying to put every single state elected official on the line. You either believe in liberty and justice for all or you don't. And you can demonstrate that you believe in liberty and justice for all by treating every Floridian, every person in the state of Florida equally, and that you believe Florida's free kill law should end, or you don't believe it should end, and you don't believe in liberty and justice for all. And everybody should be made aware of that and not vote you into office. Um I'm tired of playing games in Tallahassee. Um so um I spent probably $25,000 the first year. I spent something similar plus all the website and stuff and time um the second year. And this year, if I need to spend two or three times that, I really don't care. I'm going to demonstrate that Cameron's life matters, and I'm gonna demonstrate and hold politicians accountable who do not believe that everybody should be treated equally under the law.
SPEAKER_04That's a great plan. And it starts with raising awareness and just letting people know that this atrocious law even exists at all. And if you are watching this or listening, you can find out so much more about Florida's free kill law at Daryl's website. It's Floridafreekill.org. We've also talked to his family and interviewed their friends about Cameron's life and about the situation to raise awareness about this free kill law as well. And we've got that documentary that's coming out on our Gulf Coast Confidential YouTube channel, and that's going to be there for folks to learn about it as well. But there are so many families that have been impacted by this, and you don't realize it's happening until it happens to you. And, you know, we talk about that, the the Yet society. And, you know, I'm I don't wish anything bad on anybody, but for a politician, our governor, the man who claims to be the leader of this state to minimize his own citizens who are grieving the loss of someone and call it jackpot justice, that makes me want to throw up in my throat.
SPEAKER_00That's it, yeah. It it's unbelievable what people say, and they're that's their job to watch what they say and lead everybody and this kind of thing. But that is what happens when you're dealing in the uh legal system on top of grief. It it just people think they can treat you anyway until they meet a Daryl and Sue.
SPEAKER_04That's exactly right. Well, we thank you both so much for sharing the Cameron's story with us and coming on Gulf Coast Confidential. Is there anything else that you think would be important for people to know?
SPEAKER_01Well, what happens in most of these cases is an individual dies, the family tries to get answers and don't, then they contact lawyers, and the lawyers can't do anything for them. So there is no statewide database, there is no statewide help. So um both our website and Florida Medical Rights Association is a place that families can go to uh grieve with others who have experienced this. That's it it that the they helped me get through the first part of this. Um but um two months ago, uh a father was on the news in Jacksonville, his son went in to get his teeth fixed, died, and this is the second person that the dentist is killed. Uh last week, a mother reported that her son died. He had been to a dentist and he had gotten encephalitis, I think, or something where he literally could not even speak in the emergency room, and now he's died. So, Florida Medical Rights Association, what we need is when this happens, please go and tell your story on NFreeKill Now and to the Florida Medical Rights Association's Facebook page. Because this is happening to people in the state of Florida every year. And I am just the tip of the iceberg, and these instances of little ones are just so egregious that the news picks up on them. But there are people uh whose families are grieving all over this state for the last 35 years who have become victims, and we need to have their stories documented, and we need them to be contacting the lawmakers and say you need to change this because what we've learned is there's only one thing that politicians care about, and that is getting re-elected. And if they believe they're not going to get re-elected because of this law, they will change this law. But that's the only thing I can spend all the money on billboards I want, it's not until the politician believes oh my goodness, my constituents are could be victims, and my constituents are angry, and my constituents are not gonna vote for me because we're gonna have politicians who on one side or the other is going to sign the contract, and then the other side is not, and it's going to be real clear who you should vote for.
SPEAKER_04Amen to that.
SPEAKER_01So please tell your story to the website and to the Facebook page.
SPEAKER_02The website's a very good source of information for the families, and it also shows that they're not alone, that there are others that have been affected, and they can you know hear or or read some other stories from the other families, and then just if they'd like to help uh reach out to us, um you know, they can feel free to do so.
SPEAKER_01But just knowing that they're not alone is very important, yeah, and and and just it just happens all over. We had Austin, a fireman, whose brother, younger brother, followed him into the fire department. He died exactly the same way, got no answers, and he found me through the news broadcast on my billboard on Florida Free Kill. And I would not say that I helped him, but at least he had information of what was happening, and um DeSantes gave his brother a flag because he was a first responder. They made a big deal of it, and then two months later DeSantes vetoed free kill.
SPEAKER_04It's all about politics, it's not about human life, right?
SPEAKER_01Right. It's about the PR show. Well, fireman died. Let's make a big deal and give them this. Oh, you want to find out why I died? Oh well, that's not no, we can't have that.
SPEAKER_04Well, we're thankful that you guys are out there fighting this fight and making people aware because it is very important.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for your podcast and thank you for what you guys do. You know, that's all that matters is making people aware that you're in danger. There's also some tips on the website that if you are free kill like you, Patty, um, you know, don't put in when you fill out the documentation, don't let them know that you're single. Put in that you're married.
SPEAKER_03They do, don't they?
SPEAKER_01Right, right, right. I mean, I have no way of knowing if they did not treat Cameron because they looked at his paperwork and decided that they couldn't be held accountable. I don't know that. But I do know that it was in that paperwork. So part of our advice on the website is to if you are free killed and you are you have to go into a Florida medical facility, do not tell them that you're single. Do not tell them that you don't have children. You know, you've got seven adopted children, all under 18.
SPEAKER_04They're all over. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Busy.
SPEAKER_04There is power in numbers, though, and you're right. Whatever you have to do to protect yourself, and it's a shame that you have to think like that to protect yourself in your own state, but it's necessary because their priority is not your life. And if you don't make it your priority, they're not going to.
SPEAKER_00Definitely. Well, I sure have learned a lot. Thank y'all for sharing your story. Cameron Mattered. And like I said, I'm going to go to the website and learn some things.
SPEAKER_04And Pam's now got seven adopted children.
SPEAKER_00I guess so. Daryl said so.
SPEAKER_04We thank you guys so much for joining us. We're going to check back in. We're going to continue to follow this. And we appreciate you, our viewers, and our listeners joining us here on Gulf Coast Confidential. And we'll see you next time.