Thirteen people were charged for their roles in the hazing death of Florida A&M university drum major who was severely beaten in what appears to be one of the biggest college hazing cases ever. Click below to find out more.
The charges were announced more than five months after 26-year-old Robert Champion died aboard a chartered bus parked outside an Orlando hotel following a performance against a rival school. The case has exposed a harsh tradition among marching bands at some colleges around the U.S.
Champion was severely beaten by band members in November and had with bruises on his chest, arms, shoulder and back, authorities said. Witnesses told emergency dispatchers Champion was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard the bus.
State Attorney Lawson Lamar said 11 of the 13 people will face a hazing resulting death charge, a third-degree felony. If convicted, they could face up to nearly six years in prison. The other two people will face a misdemeanor charges.
The names of those charged will not be released until they are all arrested, Lamar said. It was also not immediately clear whether they were all band members.
Legal experts had predicted prosecutors may file more serious charges like manslaughter and second-degree murder. The Champion family attorney, Christopher Chestnut, said they were disappointed.
“They had hoped for more serious charges. They were hoping for a stronger message. He was beaten to death,” he said.
Prosecutors, however, didn’t think they had enough evidence.
