Penn State fraternity leaders convicted of hazing death

Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, were sentenced to two to four months in prison, followed by three years of probation and community service.

The former president and vice president of a now-defunct Penn State fraternity where a student died after consuming massive amounts of alcohol during a hazing ritual more than seven years ago , was sentenced to prison on Tuesday.

Brendan Young, 28, and Daniel Casey, 27, were sentenced in Center County Court to two to four months in prison, followed by three years of probation and community service, according to the district attorney’s office General of Pennsylvania. Both Young and Casey will be eligible for work release.

Young and Casey each pleaded guilty in July to 14 counts of hazing and one count of reckless endangerment – all misdemeanors. Prosecutors said the charges were related to a 2017 hazing incident in which Timothy Piazza, 19, was found unconscious after consuming large amounts of alcohol and “died days later from multiple falls following his drunkenness.

The two former fraternity leaders participated in and facilitated the hazing event, according to prosecutors. Young was president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and Casey was vice president and pledge master at the time of the incident.

Young and Casey were the last two defendants to be sentenced in the case, in which more than two dozen fraternity members were initially charged — some with manslaughter. Some of the most serious charges were dropped and others were thrown out by judges.

The case also sparked widespread outrage over fraternity culture and the problem of hazing rituals on college campuses, leading to school policy reforms and a national anti-hazing campaign supported by Piazza’s family .

“Our hearts go out to the Piazza family and everyone affected by this tragedy,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement. “Nothing can undo the harm Tim suffered seven years ago – nothing can bring Tim back to his family and friends. With today’s sentences, the criminal proceedings have come to an end.”

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What happened to Timothy Piazza?

Piazza, who was an engineering student from New Jersey, died at a hospital on February 4, 2017, two days after a hazing at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house. The teen was among 14 students summoned to the fraternity house. fraternity for an offer acceptance event.

A grand jury report released in May 2017 detailed the final hours of Piazza’s life. On the evening of February 2, fraternity security cameras recorded Piazza drinking large quantities of alcohol, including vodka and beer, as part of one of the fraternity’s initiation rituals, known as “The Gauntlet”.

Footage later showed Piazza struggling throughout the night and falling several times. At one point during the event, the report said Piazza was on a couch and fraternity members put a backpack full of books on his back to prevent him from turning around and s choking on his vomit.

Piazza then fell down a flight of stairs at the fraternity house, but members did not seek medical attention until the next morning, according to the report. Investigators determined that Piazza had consumed at least 18 drinks in less than two hours, and a doctor calculated that his blood alcohol level when he fell down a flight of stairs was 0.28 to 0.36 percent, or about four times the legal limit for driving.

Doctors concluded that Piazza suffered multiple head injuries, including a fractured skull and lacerated spleen. Piazza died as a result of “extremely reckless conduct” by fraternity members, aided by the permissive atmosphere fostered by the Penn State Interfraternity Council, the grand jury found.

Following the death of Timothy Piazza

Piazza’s death prompted Penn State to adopt several policy changes for sororities and fraternities. The university also permanently banned its chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Prosecutors said the Piazza family was “instrumental” in the Pennsylvania Legislature’s passage of the Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Act, which established stricter penalties for hazing and required schools to maintain anti-hazing policies.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday that the defendants could have faced harsher penalties “had this law been in effect at the time of the 2017 incident.”

Piazza continues to be remembered through the Timothy J. Piazza Memorial Foundation, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that helps “children and adults who need prosthetics” and funds scholarships for students in Hunterdon Central High School. There is also a Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform at Penn State.

Contributor: John Bacon, USA TODAY; Suzanne Russell, MyCentralJersey.com