This is a BLACK fraternity.
Felony hazing? So a frat pledge got his ass spanked by a wooden paddle (the article fails to mention the extent of his 'injuries'), and these guys are now convicted felons?
Is there any doubt that our government wants to make us all criminals? What are the two things convicted felons can't do, boys and girls? Vote and own a gun, the only two ways to dispose corrupt politicians.
With each new law the politicians pass to make crimes felonies, they tighten their grip over us.
I went to school to learn...not to join a drinking club and have my a$$ paddled. Both are at fault. The "victim" for letting it happen and the other two idiots for having a fetish to spank a guys butt.
Let the punishment fit the crime judge.
An all seeing, all knowing judge is deterring crime?
Frat brothers get 2 years for hazing
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Two fraternity brothers both received two-year prison terms 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.
Morton, former president of the university's Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, was found guilty of striking prospective member Marcus Jones, 20, of Decatur, Ga., with a wooden cane so severely during four nights of initiation rites that he underwent surgery for bruising to his buttocks.
Harris was convicted of participating by encouraging Jones to bear up under the beatings and reviving him with water after he passed out so he could go back for more punishment.
Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker did not explain her decision to charge Alan with contempt of court, but he often argued with her rulings, even after the decisions were made.
She said she imposed a two-year sentence on the fraternity members to deter others.
"I want to save the victims who will quietly go along because they want to belong," Dekker said. "I want schools to be furious and mad and upset that they can lose talent to this and come down hard on hazing."
They could have received 12 months to five years under sentencing guidelines for their December conviction. The 2005 law made it a felony to participate in hazing that results in serious bodily injury.
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.
Clergy members, university professors and former Florida A&M University President Fred Gainous testified that Morton and Harris were upstanding, and they urged leniency.
They also asked the judge to withhold adjudication of guilt, which she refused to do. That decision means Harris, a pharmacy major, and Morton, who was two weeks from graduating with an engineering degree, probably will be unable to get state licenses in those professions.
Morton told the judge that he grew up without a father in his home and asked to be released so he could be a father to his unborn child. His fiancee, Lena Gallego, tearfully told the judge that she was more than four months pregnant and that Morton would never again appear in court unless it was to marry her.
Jones, who also suffered a broken ear drum that has since healed, was not in court. He told the judge in a statement that he still has pain and suffers from stress, depression and flashbacks.
His father, Army Master Sgt. Mark Jones, addressed Dekker in person, saying the defendants have not shown remorse.
Come across our border illegally...no problem!
Molest a child...probation!
Sedition...we look theother way!
Haze a fraternity pledge...You're going to jail, son!
Come across our border illegally...no problem!
Molest a child...probation!
Sedition...we look the other way!
Haze a fraternity pledge...You're going to jail, son!
Prosecution Rests in Hazing Trial - 09.30.06
Prosecutors rested their case in the Kappa Alpha Psi hazing trial Friday, while defense attorneys will begin questioning their witnesses on Oct. 9.
The trial is being delayed one week because of Yom Kippur on Monday and a separate schedule conflict for Judge Kathleen Dekker and some jury members. The key witness, Marcus Jones, 20, a former sophomore at Florida A&M University, testified in court for the better part of the morning. He identified Michael Morton, 23; Brian Bowman, 23; Cory Gray, 22; Marcus Hughes, 21 as the men who beat him with canes and punched him on Feb. 26 and 27. Jones said Jason Harris, 25, also was present at that time, but he didn't hit anyone.
But another witness, Kappa pledge and FAMU student contradicted Jones' statements. Melvin Hitchens, 20, said he didn't see the defendants at the initiation sessions where Jones was beaten and punched. He also said he was harassed by an assistant state attorney and a Leon County Sheriff's investigator during the initial investigation in April.
Defendants' family, friends and some Kappas lined courtroom benches in the morning. The case has drawn a lot of attention as the first trial since the Legislature passed the hazing bill in 2005.
So far, prosecutors have tried to prove that the defendants were present at the initiation sessions and that four of them beat Jones with canes.
Defense attorneys are focusing on pointing out contradictions in witness statements. They also are questioning the seriousness of the injuries Jones suffered and are trying to prove his family had a financial motive to press charges. Mark Jones, his father, denied these claims Thursday.
At the trial, Marcus Jones walked in the courtroom carrying a cushion, which he placed on a chair before sitting in the witness box. He was one of 27 men pledging the Alpha Xi chapter of the fraternity when they were taken to a warehouse as part of that process.
He described the beatings he suffered on Feb. 23 and 24 at a house in Tallahassee. At that time, he said, he couldn't see who was beating and punching him as the room was dark.
At the warehouse on Feb. 26, Jones said, he was caned around 90 times while blindfolded. After about two hours, the initiates removed their blindfolds and the defendants introduced themselves, he said. There was one more person, he said, who called himself "Grandfather X" or "Exodus". He wasn't an undergraduate, Jones said.
Before the blindfolds came off, Jones said, "Everything kinda stopped." He heard people say "bye" and "we will see you all later." But Jones said the defendants "seemed to be in charge of everything". The pledges were caned once again that night.
On Feb. 27, he said, he was caned about 60 times. Except this time the blindfolds came off right away.
Jones said he fainted that night. That's when Harris offered him water and "encouraged" him to get back into the line.
"It was the worst pain I ever felt," he said. "I never felt pain like that. Every time I think about it, I can't describe it."
Jones told the court that Harris gave pledges bananas. One banana would go 27 ways, he said. If one of them took a big bite, he would be punched and called "greedy," Jones said.
Responding to the defense's questions, Jones said, he lost his hearing during the beatings on Feb. 23 and 24. He also said he couldn't remember talking to FAMU police investigator John Cotton. Cotton testified Wednesday that Jones was unable to identify the people beating him.
Hitchens, however, testified that he didn't see any of the defendants on the nights Jones was beaten. "I wasn't looking. I was worried about myself," he said in court. He was looking at the ceiling and not making eye contact, as instructed, he said.
He also said he was harassed by assistant state attorney Neill Wade and LCSO detective Brice Google as he was being questioned in Wade's office in April. The terms one used to describe him made him feel "belittled." One of them also said Hitchens could face perjury charges.
Google, in his testimony, admitted he may have used an offensive term to describe some pledges, or "foolish" as far as the decisions they were making.
Last updated by Hank Nuwer on February 12, 2006.
2005
Chico State University (California)
Chi Tau (college-banned chapter)
Hazing death
Eight men were charged with crimes in the death of pledge Matthew Carrington, 21. Convictions included one felony count for a sentence of one year in prison.
2005
Lambda Phi Epsilon
University of California Irvine
Pledge death under investigation
Pledge Kenny Luong of Cal Poly Pomona died in August after competing in a football game with other pledges against members of the Irvine chapter. There were many more members than pledges in the roughly played game. The death is under investigation.
2005
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge
Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event. Toxicology ruling came January 2006.
Sigma Tau Gamma
Eastern Michigan University
Ecstasy and Alcohol Death
Keith Cholette went into convulsions and died at a house party.
UC San Diego
Delta Sigma Phi
Acidental death (alcohol and possibly drugs)
The dead youth was Daniel Ashenazy.
University of Florida
Kappa Sigma and Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Drunk Driving death
The dead youth was Christopher James Small.
University of Florida
Theta Chi
Power Hour (21st birthday)
Kyle Fredrik Schuemann died in a celebration for his 22nd birthday.
Kenyon College
Delta Phi
Off-campus party
The dead youth was Colin Boyarski, 19.
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge
Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event.