Considering hazing in Fla.? Reconsider. It can land you in prison.

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Frat Brothers Sentences to 2 Years in Prison for Hazing </p>

<p>From CNN:
"TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- 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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

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

<p>Morton was accused of paddling Jones while Harris urged the pledge to take the paddling and revived him when he passed out.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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...."<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/29/florida.hazing.ap/index.html"&gt;http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/29/florida.hazing.ap/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Based on the below story on the Tallahassee Democrat's web site today, seems there's a need for deterrents in Florida.</p>

<p>"FSU, TCC students charged with hazing</p>

<p>By TaMaryn Waters
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER </p>

<p>The four students were arrested after 31 pledges of the Florida State chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity were found in a crawl space under an off-campus house on Bonnie Drive early Saturday morning, authorities said.</p>

<p>Maj. Jim Russell of the Florida State University Police Department said they received a complaint of possible hazing, so an FSU patrol officer went to the area in an unmarked car.</p>

<p>"(The officer) heard what seemed like screaming from the back of the house," Russell said, reading from the probable-cause affidavit. </p>

<p>The FSU officer called the Tallahassee Police Department for assistance. Russell said officers approached the home and "several men fled on foot."</p>

<p>Police were able to capture four men. Upon further investigation, 31 pledges were found wearing sweat pants and white T-shirts with profanity and vulgarity written on them.</p>

<p>Russell said officers reported it was 30 degrees outside during the time of the arrests...." <a href="http://tdo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...NEWS/701290334%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tdo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...NEWS/701290334&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>hm...well, gee, I had big plans for hazing, but that just thwarted all of my excitement.</p>

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<p>interesting. Sig Ep is an underground frat at Wake Forest, because they got kicked off campus a few years ago. They got a pig drunk apparently and got into national trouble with animals rights activists/hazing violations.</p>

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<p>sounds like the 25 year old should go to class and get out of college.</p>

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<p>I appreciate the sentiment of the judge, but making a more severe punishment on an individual than admitted as necessary and just to 'make a point' could be construed as cruel. There's just something not right about singling people out in the justice system because the crime happened at the wrong place, wrong time.</p>

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<p>^I felt pretty uneasy about that, too.</p>

<p>To me it's unethical.</p>

<p>As a judge, I'd want to make sure individuals got punished accordingly for crimes they committed - not for crimes that have been committed or will be committed.</p>

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<p>Yet another reason why the Greek system is uncontrollably dangerous and unjustifiable in its pre-supposed "leadership" values.</p>

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<p>You are doing something seriously wrong if hazing lands you in jail.</p>

<p>Apparently, his dad wasn't in the same fraternity as his dad. Such connections work wonders.</p>

<p>EDIT: Nevermind, I didn't realize it was a black frat. They are completely different.</p>

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<p>How are they completely different?</p>

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<p>Traditionally African American frats and sororities are governed by a completely different national council than ISC/IFC frats, and have very different policies regarding everything from pledge period to membership (eg: older individuals who wish to join the alumni chapters of these frats without having participated in college are allowed to do so). There are also cultural differences between them--stepping, for example, is a very large part of many traditionally black frats/sororities' cultures, while it's not really present in ISC/IFC groups' cultures at all. </p>

<p>And hello, tenniscraze--there's no question that these two guys committed assault on another student with a weapon to the point of causing serious physical harm, which obviously is and should be a criminal offense. But just because these two guys were stupid enough to do it doesn't mean that every single frat guy beats up pledges with large wooden sticks--just like the arrest of a single black man for robbery, for example, doesn't mean that all African American men are thugs and thieves. So I'm not sure why this single incident is an example of why the entire Greek community nationwide is criminally negligent and abusive, tenniscraze--especially since there are hundreds of thousands of us on campuses nationwide who are NOT cited for such charges, but are instead commended for community service and academic scholarship.</p>

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<p>I don't think you see the different ways that frats haze their pledges. And I did point out that CERTAIN frats haze, so i'm not speaking for all of them. "Challenging" pledges to stand naked in front of a sorority house for example is a humiliating and deragotary act. In other words, you don't need to be kicked the balls or slashed on the face in order to be involved in hazing. There are subtler ways to approaching hazing, and unfortunately it is through these methods that frats are uncaught in their shameful act.</p>

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<p>I think that the entire purpose of punishment (like prison) is to deter people from committing crimes ?</p>

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<p>.............Yet another reason why the Greek system is uncontrollably dangerous and unjustifiable in its pre-supposed "leadership" values...........</p>

<p>So - I guess this needs to be applied to athletic teams that haze as well?? Hazing is illegal - no matter how you cut it.</p>

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<p>Tenniscraze, </p>

<p>Could you explain how you personally have come to form your opinion? I've read alot of your stuff and you come off like the porn star whom you find out was abused as a child, the real reason she's in the business she's in. Past issues.</p>

<p>What are your past issues? What happened? Did you get hazed? Did you try to join and were rejected? You have to have more than an arm's length 3rd party view as you make great efforts to discredit the frat system. What did they do to you? And I'm honestly asking. I'm trying to understand why you feel so strongly.</p>

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<p>Here's why I look at hazing as different than assault.</p>

<p>Basically, pledges volunteer themselves to get hazed.</p>

<p>I mean, seriously. If you're uncomfortable, leave. It's not like they're holding you prisoner.</p>

<p>Therefore I actually think the person getting hazed should be punished as well, because they agreed to go along with the whole thing...and that's assuming in most cases people getting hazed are allowed to leave. I'd kind of speculate that this is true, otherwise these boys would be charged with kidnapping as well...haha. I mean I get kind of mad when two kids are sentenced to two years in prison only to be "made an example of" when really who else is also to blame? People who feel such a need to be "part of the crowd" that they would actually go along with it...</p>

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<p>That's not how pledges work at all groovinhard... It's not like most hazing happens like it does in the movies... from what I've heard. You just don't stand in a line and get punched.</p>

<p>My friend was in a Frat at FAMU. He was late for drumline practice one day, and they had him go into a room to "get some sticks." He went in, they turned off the lights and started throwing all their sticks at him. He got seriously bruised and hurt.</p>

<p>I am thinking about going greek, but if anything stupid like that happens, you can bet I'll be out of there in a second, probably with a lawyer.</p>

<p>I still think this ruling is ridiculous though. I mean it makes me feel safer as a Floridian probably going to UF, but holy crap, I hope I never get that judge.</p>

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<p>badman-</p>

<p>The essential purpose of punishment in the legal system is justice, hence the 'justice system'. It serves a secondary purpose as a deterrent, but the secondary purpose should never overtake the primary, in my opinion.</p>

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<p>^Yeah.</p>

<p>And yeah I have no idea how pledging works in all cases. If this kid asked them to stop, or didn't know hazing was going to happen...then yeah. But I feel like a lot of times, people go through it because they think that's what they have to do.</p>

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<p>There are no past issues with me. I did not rush or pledge a frat, hence rejection does not have anything to do with me. The issues are current, as they are, and as results and reports show, a majority of hazing incidents are formed in frats. This clearly speaks for the lack of or uncivil, immoral values they impose on society.</p>

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<p>"This clearly speaks for the lack of or uncivil, immoral values they impose on society."</p>

<p>Are you talking about frats or the GOP, Focus on the Family and any other group in America? </p>

<p>The good fairly didn't come down and tap you on the head and say "go after frats, they are truly what's wrong with the world." did she? </p>

<p>Something is at the base of your complaints, I mean there are more important issues out there than frats and soros. I'm just wondering what it is?</p>