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Jury convicts former band member in FAMU hazing

 
Dante Martin, 27, was also convicted of felony hazing in the Marching 100 ritual known as “crossing bus C.” He faces up to 22 years in prison.
Dante Martin, 27, was also convicted of felony hazing in the Marching 100 ritual known as “crossing bus C.” He faces up to 22 years in prison.
Published Nov. 1, 2014

ORLANDO — A former member of Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band was convicted of manslaughter Friday in the fatal hazing of drum major Robert Champion, whose death led to the suspension of the famed band for more than a year.

The case also contributed to the resignation of university president James Ammons in 2012. That year, a report from the Florida Board of Governors inspector general's office concluded that the university lacked internal controls to prevent or detect hazing, citing a lack of communication among top university officials, the Police Department and the office responsible for disciplining students.

The band returned to halftime performances last year.

Dante Martin, 27, who was a student from Tampa, faces up to 22 years in prison. He showed no emotion as Circuit Judge Renee Roche read the verdict. Martin also was found guilty of felony hazing and two misdemeanor counts of hazing involving two other band members.

The jury listened to three days of testimony and nearly four hours of arguments from State Attorney Jeff Ashton and Martin's defense team.

Ashton told jurors that hazing may have been a deeply rooted tradition in the celebrated marching band, but that should not excuse those who beat Champion to death during a ritual on a bus in Orlando nearly three years ago.

"Tradition didn't kill Robert Champion. Tradition isn't to blame for Robert Champion's death," he said. "You don't get to break the law because those who came before you did it. That may work when you're 10, but it doesn't work when you're an adult — an adult who has the ability to say, 'No. I won't be part of this barbarous ritual anymore.' "

Defense attorney Richard Escobar countered that Champion, a talented musician who had been a FAMU student for seven years, already held leadership positions in the Marching 100 when he voluntarily participated in the ritual known as "crossing bus C" that led to his death Nov. 19, 2011.

Champion was struck more than 100 times as he ran from the front of the bus to the back through fellow band members.

Escobar argued that the crossing on the bus was akin to a competition — and not a hazing. He argued the ritual was an exercise that had been in place for generations, created by those who helped make the band great.

"Brutal as it was, senseless as it was, it was a competition," he said.

Martin did not testify during the trial. In addition to manslaughter in Champion's death, Martin was charged with misdemeanors in the alleged hazings of Keon Hollis and Lissette Sanchez of Orlando, who were not injured during their hazings on the bus.

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Sanchez testified Wednesday that Martin decided who was allowed to participate in the hazing ritual. She said she initially decided she wasn't going to take part her sophomore year in 2011, but changed her mind in an effort to end shunning from older band members who called her a "bad upperclassman" for not having done it.

"I felt like I was breaking a tradition," Sanchez said.

In a brief appearance on the witness stand late Wednesday, Julian White, who retired as band director in the months after Champion's death, testified that all band members had to sign anti-hazing pledges.

"I did a number of events and activities to curtail hazing," he said.

Champion collapsed after the ritual, which occurred on a bus parked outside the Rosen Plaza hotel in Orlando after the Florida Classic game between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman University. An assistant medical examiner testified that he died of "hemorrhagic shock" as a result of the beating.

Among those assembled for the final arguments were Champion's parents, Pam and Robert; Martin's family; and Rick Mitchell, who is defending the university in a wrongful-death case filed by the Champions. The parents say FAMU allowed a culture of hazing to flourish for decades in its iconic marching band.

Champion's mother held his ballcap, which had the words "The Example" written under the brim.

Ashton told jurors that the drum major from suburban Atlanta earned the nickname for his hard work, athleticism, musical talent and leadership.

But the prosecutor then held up an autopsy photo for the jury to see.

"The last decision he made in life is also an example — it's an example of peer pressure," Ashton said. "It is an example that even the best are subject to the desire to be accepted by their peers. It is an example of what happens when decades of indifference and decades of fantasy lead us to ignore the law."

Fifteen former band members originally were charged in the incident. Eleven have had their cases settled, and several of them will be called as witnesses to describe what happened on the bus.

On Monday, the judge delayed the trials for defendants Benjamin McNamee, Aaron Golson and Darryl Cearnel after their attorneys said they did not have the opportunity to question witnesses about hazing charges that were added to the case. They have pleaded not guilty.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.