Tallahassee, Fla. – A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the hazing trial of five Florida A&M University fraternity members after the jury said it could not reach a verdict.
The trial would have been the first to test a new state law that makes such activities a felony if they result in death or serious bodily injury.
Jurors deliberated for more than three hours, but the mistrial was declared about 20 minutes after they sent a note to Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker asking for a more substantial definition of serious bodily injury. She told the jury there was no further legal instruction.
Four Kappa Alpha Psi brothers were charged with using canes, boxing gloves and bare fists to beat aspiring fraternity member Marcus Jones, 20. The Decatur, Ga., native said he was beaten so severely over four nights of an initiation ritual that he suffered a broken eardrum and needed surgery on his buttocks.
The fifth defendant was accused of assisting in the alleged hazing by encouraging Jones and other would-be fraternity members to bear up under the beatings and revived them with water.
