clipped from: www.cnn.com TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- Two fraternity brothers who paddled a pledge with wooden canes received a two-year prison term each Monday from a judge who said she wanted to send a message with the state's first prosecution under a felony hazing law.
Florida A&M University students Michael Morton, 23, of Fort Lauderdale, and Jason Harris, 25, of Jacksonville, were led from the courtroom in handcuffs, as was Harris' lawyer, Richard Keith Alan II, who was charged with indirect criminal contempt.
The students were charged with hazing Marcus Jones, 20, of Decatur, Georgia, who suffered a broken ear drum and severe bruising to his buttocks after he was punched and struck with wooden canes.
Morton was accused of paddling Jones while Harris urged the pledge to take the paddling and revived him when he passed out.
Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker said that one year might have been sufficient to punish Morton and Harris but that she added a second year to make sure that their sentences serve as a deterrent.