Three men, including a U.S. Secret Service agent, are now behind bars for severely hazing fraternity pledges in South Florida, officials said.
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The two victims were pledging the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, and were allegedly subjected to a dayslong ritual of beatings that led to kidney failure for one.
Deadly hazing incidents in the past 30 years have led to changes in Florida law.
What is hazing?
Hazing is defined in Florida law as “any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student” for initiation, admission or affiliation with any organization at a postsecondary institution, including to further or perpetuate “a tradition or ritual” of one of these organizations.
Hazing can take many forms, including physical brutality like whipping, beating, branding, exposure to the elements, and forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance.
The law states that it also includes any activity that would subject the student to “extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.”
The organization Stop Hazing says three components define the activity:
- It occurs in a group context
- It includes humiliating, degrading, or endangering behavior
- It happens regardless of an individual’s willingness to participate
Is hazing a crime?
Hazing can be prosecuted as a third-degree felony if it results in “permanent injury, serious bodily injury, or death of such other person,” according to Florida law.
It is otherwise a first-degree misdemeanor if it “creates a substantial risk of physical injury or death to such other person.”
Deadly hazing incidents in Florida
At least three students have died as a result of brutal hazing incidents in Florida.
They include Chad Meredith, who was recruited from Indiana to play baseball at the University of Miami. He died in 2001 while pledging the Kappa Sigma fraternity, after he was convinced to swim across Lake Osceola in the middle of the night and drowned.
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The tragedy led to changes to Florida’s existing law with , signed into law on the UM campus by then-governor Jeb Bush in 2005. The first change made to the law was that the victim’s consent is not a defense. The law was also written to specify that the events do not have to happen at an official fraternity-sponsored event to constitute hazing.
The in 2011, Robert Champion collapsed and died after being pummeled by fellow members of Florida A&M University’s famed Marching 100 band during a ritual known as “crossing Bus C.”
Most recently, Andrew Coffey’s death in 2017 led to changes in Florida law about hazing.
What is Andrew’s Law?
Andrew Coffey was a 20-year-old civil engineering major from Pompano Beach, pledging for the Florida State University chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. On Nov. 3, 2017, Coffey attended an off-campus party and was found unresponsive hours later.
FSU says on their website that Coffey had been asked to drink “the ‘family bottle’ of bourbon given to him by his ‘Big Brother’ as part of a long-standing fraternity tradition… During his autopsy, his blood alcohol level was reported to be 0.447–6 times the legal limit.”
Coffey did not survive. In his memory, Florida lawmakers passed the law named after him in April 2019.
Andrew’s Law:
- provides for immunity under the hazing statute to the first person who calls 911 or administers aid to a hazing victim
- grants immunity only if the 911 caller cooperates with law enforcement
- provides for prosecution of event coordinators where hazing causes injury, even if coordinators don’t attend
- provides for prosecution of hazing that causes permanent damage
FSU states that Nine Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members were charged with misdemeanor or felony hazing in Coffey’s death, and all served jail time ranging from 30 days up to 1 year.
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