HBCU News: 12 FAMU Marching Band Members Get Manslaughter Charges

Upgraded charges carry sentence of up to 15 years in prison

If things weren’t already serious for former members of Florida A&M University’s infamous marching band, they are more so this week. Authorities on Monday charged 12 former members of the “Marching 100” with manslaughter in the 2011 hazing death of 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion. Ten of the members had already been charged with felony hazing in Champion’s death last May. The state attorney’s office said they are adding the manslaughter charge for each defendant and have charged two previously uncharged band members. If convicted, the charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. Champion died in Orlando in November 2011 after collapsing from what prosecutors allege was a brutal beating by members during a hazing ritual. An attorney for Champion’s parents says the new charge “sends the right message regarding zero-tolerance of hazing in the FAMU band.” The band has been serving out a university-imposed suspension since the incident and no time has been announced for its return. (New York Times)

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