PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A Florida jury began deliberations Friday morning in the trial of eight former boot camp employees accused of causing the death of a juvenile offender in their care.

The panel of four women and two men received the case after a day of closing arguments Thursday in the trial of seven drill instructors and a nurse accused in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson.

Former drill instructors Henry Dickens, Patrick Garrett, Raymond Hauck, Charles Helms Jr., Henry McFadden Jr., Charles Enfinger, Joseph Walsh and nurse Kristin Schmidt face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of aggravated manslaughter for the teen's death.

The jury can also consider lesser charges of manslaughter, child neglect and misdemeanor culpable negligence — convictions which would carry lighter sentences.

Outside the Panama City courthouse where lawyers gave their final remarks, demonstrators waved handmade signs Thursday in support of both sides, in a case that has polarized the Bay County community since Anderson's death on Jan. 6, 2006.

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The altercation, which occurred after Anderson refused to complete a mandatory fitness run, was captured on surveillance cameras at the Bay County Sheriff's Department Juvenile Boot Camp. The camp was closed a few months after the teen's death.

Court began Thursday with two people missing — defendant Joseph Walsh and a male juror who called in sick.

Walsh, who testified Wednesday that he left the Army because of Gulf War Syndrome, was taken to the hospital during the testimony of a defense medical expert Wednesday evening. He remained there Thursday.

Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet agreed Thursday to let the teen's father, Robert Anderson, sit in court for closings, even though on Wednesday he had banned him for causing a disturbance.

While lawyers on both sides described the trial as a quest for the truth in tragic circumstances, they continued to argue their differing views on whether Anderson died of complications from a genetic disorder or through the "actions and inactions" of the defendants.

Just as they did throughout the six-day trial, prosecutors used the footage in their closing to show how the drill instructors "brutalized" the teen and administered excessive amounts of ammonia to him while the nurse stood by. Anderson died less than 24 hours later after his parents took him off life support.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Sinacore told the jury that a desire for "control and domination" drove the defendants' actions instead of a genuine concern for the teen's well-being as his caregivers and "de-facto parents."

"They needed to control him. They needed to dominate him and they crossed the line by a long shot," Sinacore told jurors. "Their goal became to get Martin Anderson to do what they wanted him to do, and all their actions are consistent with that." (VIDEO)

Before a courtroom audience packed with supporters of the defendants and members of Anderson's family, Sinacore narrated the video footage, pointing out where drill instructors struck the teen even though he was lying on the ground, appearing to offer no resistance.

The prosecutor also pointed out moments when the guards covered his mouth while administering the ammonia capsules even when Anderson appeared to be alert.

"What the evidence shows in this case is that the ammonia was used as a compliance tool," said Sinacore. "It was used to get Martin Lee Anderson to do what they wanted to do, which was get up and finish the run."

Each of the defendants took the stand and told jurors that everything they did was in accordance with boot-camp policy, including holding ammonia capsules in Anderson's face to get him back on his feet after he collapsed.