The next actors in this sad charade are Morton and Harris, who are somewhere within the maw of the Florida correctional system as this is being written. They got shafted, but the law couldn’t have been an ass if they hadn’t initially acted like ones themselves. Harris’ crime? Telling Jones to keep a stiff upper lip while being caned, and reviving the pledge with water after he passed out, so he could be beaten some more.

Morton, arrested two weeks short of earning an engineering degree in 2005, was one of the Kappas who helped administer the beating. He and Harris, who was closing in on a pharmacy degree, were convicted of third-degree felony hazing. Never a smart activity to engage in, but one that apparently will cause Black college students in Florida to spend years rubbing shoulders with serial rapists and murderers.

t would be great if we could simply turn the page on this tawdry cautionary tale with the sentencing of Morton and Harris. Unfortunately, three other Kappas accused of beating Marcus Jones will be tried again on Mar. 12, after an earlier mistrial.

 In case you’re curious, Florida’s hazing felony law stems from the predominantly White University of Miami, where a fraternity pledge died after swimming drunk across a campus lake with two members of a frat he hoped to join.

No charges were ever filed against the two, so they never spent a minute in jail. Much less two years.   

— Blair S. Walker is a frequent contributor to Diverse.

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