Frat brothers get prison for paddling pledge
 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan. 30) - Two fraternity brothers who paddled a pledge with wooden canes received a two-year prison term each Monday from a judge who said she wanted to send a message with the state's first prosecution under a felony hazing law.

Florida A&M University students Michael Morton, 23, of Fort Lauderdale, and Jason Harris, 25, of Jacksonville, were led from the courtroom in handcuffs, as was Harris' lawyer, Richard Keith Alan II, who was charged with indirect criminal contempt.

The students were charged with hazing Marcus Jones, 20, of Decatur, Ga., who suffered a broken ear drum and severe bruising to his buttocks after he was punched and struck with wooden canes.

Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker said that one year might have been sufficient to punish Morton and Harris but that she added a second year to make sure that their sentences serve as a deterrent.

A jury in December convicted both under the new law, which makes it a felony to participate in hazing that results in serious bodily injury.

They could have from 12 months to five years under sentencing guidelines.

It was the second trial for Morton, Harris and three other Kappa Alpha Psi members. The first jury was unable to reach a verdict for any of the five defendants after raising questions about serious bodily injury, which is not defined in the law. The second jury also was unable to reach a verdict for the other three defendants, and they are to be tried a third time in March.


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So, do not do it!

Guess it goes to show that so you so the crime then you do the time!

They're about to experience hazing taken to a whole new level.

From the CNN article:

Don't send her baby daddy to jail! :rolleyes:

Saw that. I feel bad for the kid, but if he's supposed to be mature enough to raise a child, he shouldn't be beating people.

Two years seems excessive to me.

True, but that extra year was thrown in there because the judge doesn't want others to do the same thing.

Sadly, I doubt that this case will stop hazing altogether. Chapters will continue this bullshit.

But as JoninKC said -- they're about to receive a new kind of hazing in prison.

Here's the thing:
She's 4 months pregnant, so his sentance will be about 1/4 over by the time she gives birth. Then the kid will be without a father for a year and a half. Boohoo. That kid will not remember if it had a father for at least the first 3-4 years of it's life. Can you remember anything that happened to you before preschool & kindergarten? It's not that serious if he really wants to be a father.

I don't think it's unreasonable for a mother to want the father of her child to be with her during the pregnancy, birth, and first years of the child's life. I guess it's a matter of opinion, but to me, that is definitely that serious.

(Maybe someone can explain this to me - the "victims" in these hazing cases all are willing participants, correct? So how is this something that anyone can be legally punished for? I'm sure that there is an explanation, but I've never really heard it, and I was just wondering about that.)

My chapter soror made a similar joke about that. Although, the situation is not funny, I did chuckle. :o

I think it was mentioned in the article that the law just recently passed bans the use of "willing participant" as an excuse. The idea being that you are peer pressured into it, and when it comes down to it, it's not ok to assault someone no matter what.

If someone dies after participating in activity that they were a willing particpant in (but they didn't expect to die) is there no fault? Or should someone be responsible.

People in hell want icewater. So?

This woman's baby-daddy is a convicted felon. Should all felons get off their sentence so they can be baby-daddies?? Regardless of your opinion of hazing being a felony, it is, and he got caught, so he has to pay the price.

i think a busted ear drum qualifies as serious bodily harm. not cool.

It's never happened to me but I've had earaches before and all I can think of is DAMN that would hurt like hell. Worse than bruises for me.

It's not unreasonable, but we all know that's not the way it works. I just hope she has a good support system through her family and friends, because raising a child alone is hard. Heck, raising a child with dad at home is hard work. I don't blame her for trying, even though she has to know it's a lost cause. But who she should be upset with, really, is her fiancee.

I've read a million policies on hazing from the school, glos, etc. It seems like the "hazee" is also held responsible if they allow the event to occur, but to a lesser extent. I think that's fair. (I also think "hazing" encompasses things that should not be considered hazing, but bodily harm most certainly should.) I love my sisters, but you better believe during my term as a new member if I had been physically hurt, been forced to do things that affected my school work, been forced to publically humiliate myself, they wouldn't have been able to get my to participate. I'd be out of there in a heart beat.