MEMBERS SENTENCED TO 2 YEARS FOR HAZING IN FLORIDA

Dan McCarthy, Manley Burke

“They tortured my son.”  Army Master Sgt. Mark Jones told the judge, according to the Associated Press.  “He wasn’t hazed.  He was tortured.”

The first two fraternity members convicted under the new Florida hazing law each recently received two year prison terms.  Michael Morton and Jason Harris, members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Chapter at Florida A & M University, were convicted of physically abusing a prospective member during an initiation ceremony.  The victim, Marcus Jones, suffered a broken ear drum and was repeatedly beaten with a wood cane on his buttocks so severely that he ultimately required surgery for his injuries.

In the Associated Press article, Judge Kathleen Dekker explained the reason for the prison terms: “I want to save the victims who will quietly go along because they want to belong.  I want schools to be furious and mad and upset that they can lose talent to this and come down hard on hazing.”

The defendants attempted to argue that the victim was a willing participant because he could have withdrawn from the initiation at any time.  However, under the Florida statute, like in most states now, the fact that the victim willing participated in the activity does not create a valid defense to criminal hazing charges.