Chi Tau hazers get off easy
November 09, 2005
(Opinion column from campus newsp.)
No amount of restitution can make up for killing another person.
Death is irreversible, and judges generally take this into consideration when doling out punishment. Some of the harshest punishments, including the death penalty, are reserved for killers.
And yet there is a loophole.
If you're a college student and you've killed someone through a hazing ritual, then the harshest penalties won't be reserved for you.
On Oct. 28, four former Chi Tau brothers pleaded guilty to misdemeanor hazing charges. Three of the men also pleaded guilty to the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter.
The actions of these men, involuntary or not, led to the death of Matthew Carrington in February.
Carrington is gone forever, and these men will be in jail for one year or less.
The most serious of the sentences was for Gabriel John Maestretti, who continued Carrington's hazing long after the other brothers were done, police have said. He was sentenced to one year in jail and a $3,160.79 fine.
Across the country, young people are dying from hazing. From 2001 to 2002, at least seven fraternity men died from hazing-related activities, according to author Hank Nuwer's online hazing database. And yet rarely are those responsible for hazing charged with crimes or given the sentences they deserve.
In 2001, three pledges at San Diego State almost died after they were ordered to drink by older fraternity members. The incident was labeled a "close call" and no one was given jail time.
In 2002, Alberto Santos drowned during a fraternity initiation at the University of Nevada at Reno. The prosecuting attorney declined to file charges against any of the men involved.
In 2003, in a case eerily similar to Carrington's, Walter Dean Jennings died of water intoxication during a fraternity hazing ritual at Plattsburgh State University of New York. Of the more than 10 people involved, only one fraternity member received jail time. The rest were ordered to take part in an anti-hazing documentary.
These pseudo-punishments aren't enough. If courts are going to put an end to hazing, then hazers need more than a year of jail or community service.
They need actual prison sentences -- the same as any other dangerous criminal.
People who murder their spouses are looked at as scum. More than half are charged with manslaughter and sentenced to an average of 13 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. But what's different about killing a spouse or killing a fraternity pledge?
In both cases, a person is dead. And yet time and time again the fraternity member will get a lighter sentence than the spouse-killer.
In some cases, lying gets a harsher sentence than hazing.
Rapper Lil' Kim is serving 366 days in prison for perjury. She is spending more time behind bars for lying than Maestretti will for manslaughter.
Whether the Chi Tau brothers meant to kill Carrington or not, he is gone.
Hazing is never meant in good fun, and forcing pain on someone isn't just a prank.
Expulsion, community service and fines are not enough when it comes to hazing someone to death.
If hazing is going to stop, then the next people who commit this crime should be made examples of. Their punishment should reflect the harshest penalties allowed by law.
Hazing is a crime, and it is not going to stop until it's taken seriously in court.
Stephanie Teague can be reached at
opinioneditor@orion-online.net