First trial in college band-hazing death begins in Florida

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) - Tradition is no excuse for the 2011 fatal hazing of a Florida college marching band member, prosecutors told a jury on Tuesday, as testimony began in a case that triggered a national conversation about abusive rituals. Percussionist Dante Martin, 27, is accused of directing a hazing ritual involving the Florida A&M University's celebrated "Marching 100" band that led to the death of Robert Champion, a 26-year-old drum major. "Some might say tradition killed Robert Champion, and there might be some truth to that," prosecutor Jeff Ashton said in his opening statement. "The fact that this is a tradition is no defense to the people involved." Martin is the first of 14 band members charged in the incident to go to trial. Nine others received probation and community service in plea deals, and one was sentenced to almost a year in jail. During a ritual known as "Crossing Bus C," participants made their way from the front to back of the percussionists' travel bus while being kicked, punched, whipped and hammered with drum mallets, according to band members. A medical examiner found Champion died of hemorrhagic shock from blunt force trauma after running a gauntlet of band members beating him on the darkened charter bus. Champion died onboard the bus, which brought the band to Orlando in November 2011 for a football game between Florida A&M and another historically black university. At halftime, the two schools' bands competed during popular, jazz-inspired shows. Martin, the percussion section president, is accused of manslaughter, a felony charge of hazing resulting in a death and two misdemeanor counts of hazing. Defense lawyer Dino Michaels told a jury of four women and two men - none of whom are black - the university's pride in its world-renowned band set the stage for tragedy in a brutal ritual known to students and faculty. "This band became bigger than the school," Michaels said. Michaels said a key trial issue would be whether the ritual fell under an "athletic competition" exemption to the state's anti-hazing law and whether Martin should be held responsible for blows landed by others. Witness Keon Hollis, also a drum major, testified that he and Champion both participated that evening to gain respect from band members. Prosecutors said the cumulative damage from the pummeling, not one blow, killed Champion. (Editing by Letitia Stein and Steve Orlofsky)