Last Three FAMU Hazing Defendants Found Guilty of Manslaughter
Aaron Golson, Benjamin McNamee, and Darryl Cearnel were convicted on one count of felony hazing and manslaughter for the 2011 incident that led to the death of 26-year-old Champion. The hazing count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison while the manslaughter count has a maximum 15 years in prison.
Champion died Nov. 19, 2011, after a hazing ritual in which he was beaten aboard a bus in Orlando after a football game. He sustained multiple blunt force traumas and internal bleeding.
State Attorney Jeff Ashton said the three men broke the law when they entered into an unspoken agreement to take part in the hazing.
“What we’ve shown you is a world that is somewhat hard to understand,” Ashton said during closing statements. “It’s a world where tradition takes precedence over the law …Somebody had to die to start the process of people understanding that tradition is not the most important thing.”
Dante Martin, the ringleader of the hazing incident, received six years and five months in prison for his role in Champion’s death in January.
